A day after the announcement of the retirement of the Swiss Roger Federer, the Serbian Novak Djokovic finally joined this Friday the many tributes offered to the tennis legend.
In a message posted on his Instagram account, Novak Djokovic evoked “more than a decade of incredible moments and clashes” with Roger Federer, AFP quoted.
“Roger, it is difficult to live this day and put words to everything we have shared in this sport. More than a decade of incredible moments and confrontations as a memory,” said the Serbian on the social network.
“Your career has set the tone for what it means to achieve excellence and dominate with integrity and cold blood,” adds Djokovic, who will share a team with Federer in London at the next Laver Cup (September 23-25).
The Serbian will be part of the European team, also made up of Roger Federer -who will play his last competition there-, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
Djokovic, one of the Swiss’s great rivals with Rafael Nadal, had not posted any comments on his Twitter and Instagram accounts on Thursday, contrary to the Spaniard, who greeted his “friend and rival” and confessed that he would not have liked the day of his retreat will come.
The silence of “Djoko” had sparked a debate on social networks, and even shocked the Serbian media, in the image of the daily Kurir. “Novak’s message to Federer is missing,” the newspaper headlined on its website, speaking of a “Nole still silent.”
Djokovic had, however, been highly admiring of Federer’s talent a few years ago (“Impossible not to wonder if he’s from the same planet”).
wimbledon 2019
Within the “Big Three”, Nadal and Federer often show their friendship, despite the rivalry on the courts. Together, they also sometimes showed their distance from Djokovic, especially when the Serb announced in 2020 the creation of a new association of professional tennis players, independent of the ATP, ignoring calls for unity from the Spanish and the Swiss.
Djokovic and Federer met 50 times in total, with the Serb winning 27 times (11 wins to six in Grand Slam tournaments).
The most remembered of his finals was Wimbledon in 2019 where, despite having two match points, Federer could not achieve his 21st Grand Slam title. This final is the longest in the history of the London tournament (4h57).
In early July, the two appeared together and smiling at a Wimbledon Center Court centenary ceremony.
