Novak Djokovic has placed himself above Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as the greatest tennis player ever – but that doesn’t mean he’s the most loved.
Federer and Nadal are two of the most adored stars in the history of the sport and there was a huge amount of love for the former legend when he retired in 2022.
Nadal, who is soon set to hang up his own racket, possibly after the Olympics, was treated like a king on Monday at what could be his last ever French Open.
Federer ended his career with 20 major titles while Nadal registered 22 Grand Slam trophies, with both men falling short of Djokovic’s incredible haul of 24.
But for whatever reason, Djokovic has not been given the same treatment from fans, with the Serbian booed off and hit by a water bottle in Rome this month as he gets ready to kick off his 2024 French Open campaign on Tuesday night.
Even at Wimbledon, where Djokovic has been a dominant force for over a decade and has won seven singles titles, the world No.1 has endured a frosty reception.
During last year’s final against Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic was loudly booed by spectators and he goaded them by cupping his ears towards the crowd.
So why does Djokovic not get the same amount of love as Nadal and Federer? Metro.co.uk takes a look…
‘I didn’t come from a Western country’
Novak Djokovic himself believes that his nationality is one of the factors why he does not get the same amount of love as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
‘Yeah, there was no room for three,’ Djokovic said. ‘All the most celebrated rivalries in sport, all the romantic novels, it’s always two people, not three.
‘In football it’s Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. So I understand that’s probably one of the reasons why [I was on the outside].
‘I didn’t come from a western country, I don’t come from that world, and I was not afraid to say I wanted to beat these guys, to be No 1.
‘I said this when I was a teenager. I think a lot of people did not like that, including them [Federer and Nadal], so right away I was kept outside and judged a lot, maybe not liked as much as them.
‘It was also due to my attitude, saying I am better than them, I will be the best. I knew someone with this kind of mindset would be polarising.
‘One group of people will say, ‘I like the confidence’ – others will think, ‘Look at this arrogant p****’ – that’s how it was, really polarising.’
Complicated behaviour on the court
Toni Nadal, the uncle of Rafa, has blamed Novak Djokovic’s behaviour on the tennis court as one of the reasons why some fans dislike him.
Djokovic has been known to sometimes throw tantrums towards his box or pick on people in the crowd during matches.
‘I think the problem he has had is that he broke in when there was a clear rivalry between Federer and Rafael, and people liked that matchup,’ he said.
‘I think that he never managed to be as loved as the other two, and that his behaviour on the court has sometimes been a little more complicated.’
Novak Djokovic is disliked by some for his refusal to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
The Serbian has been branded an ‘anti-vax posterboy’ for his stance and has endured plenty of criticism.
Sorin Cucerai, a political commentator, said: ‘Djokovic was always like some kind of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. There are two sides to Djokovic. One side is ‘Nole’ – a fabulous tennis player who did a great deal for sports and tennis in particular, someone who had a very positive influence on tennis on many levels.
‘On the other hand, you have, let’s call him ‘Novax’. A very strange guy with weird New Age beliefs, that he displays from time to time, and also a conspiracy theorist.’
Djokovic ended up in no man’s land
Tennis fans have long debated why Novak Djokovic does not seem to get the same admiration as his fellow Big Three stars.
In a popular Reddit post, one particular tennis fan, @tigull posted: ‘He came along right when the Fedal rivalry was peaking and the gap was getting smaller by the tournament, which of course meant that most of the fanbase was as polarised as ever thanks to the obvious contrast in on-court personas and playstyles.
‘Djokovic just ended up in no man’s land: even for new fans, whether you liked elegant offensive or gritty defensive tennis, Roger and Rafa were by all means the standard, and Nole was successful from a young age enough to shrug off any underdog role, which incidentally was somehow picked up by Murray in the collective eye.
‘I think his attitude early on towards injuries and retirements didn’t play in his favour and sort of established him as a whiny-loser character, and I think working towards removing that image through the Djoker persona made him come across as non-genuine, at least in the eyes of some people. I believe that if he went full villain, he would have been more respected and possibly loved by the fans.’
Djokovic is everybody’s great villain
Another tennis fan suggested that the reason why Novak Djokovic isn’t as loved as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is because that every story needs a villain.
Posting on Quora, Ryan Quirk said: ‘He’s just not as likeable. His body language is that of someone who is unflinching, tough as nails, immovable, whereas Nadal comes across as the never-say-die hero, tanned, has a nice smile, wears trendy vests and all that.
‘Federer is the greatest, the king of the court, also considered handsome, always fair, always excellent. Andy Murray came across as brittle somehow, that he always felt unfairly treated by the world.
‘Every story has its heroes and villains, and that is all driven by public perception. People want to be in a players corner, and for their player to be the hero, there has to be a villain, and for most Federer and Nadal fans, that villain is Djokovic, because he is so good.
‘It gets people engaged, they watch hoping that their hero will win, and when he doesn’t, it creates ill feeling towards the person / team who beat him / them, but also, generates emotions that will bring the fan back again, to see their hero get revenge and win the next game.
‘It’s the same in any sport, in cricket is used to be the Australians, in Formula 1 it was Michael Schumacher and now Lewis Hamilton, in rugby it is the All Blacks of New Zealand. There is always that one guy, that one team, that is so good, that they become the antagonist in the mental story of their opponents’ fans. It’s what makes sport so universally appealing.’
