The rivalry between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic was undoubtedly one of the most heated and spectacular that tennis has ever seen. Two champions who have often competed for the most prestigious trophies on the circuit on the most important courts in the world.
The Serbian leads the Swiss 27 to 23, a sign of a great balance between two of the three most titled tennis players in history. Their first meeting was in 2006 in Monte-Carlo, the last at the Australian Open in 2020.
In one of the episodes of his podcast on his YouTube channel, Gill Gross, tennis analyst for Tennis Channel and US Open, compared the 2014 Wimbledon final with the 2019 one, which both saw the two champions pitted against each other. According to him, the first was a turning point for the career of the 24-time slam champion, who from then on completely took off.
Gross analyzed: "I have to admit that the quality of the game was better in 2014. It's a match that probably isn't recognized enough, also because it marked a turning point for Djokovic. While Novak has handled his opportunities in Grand Slam finals like no other, he wasn't in that position at all at the time.
In fact, the opposite. Up until that point he had lost many Grand Slam finals. I think having Boris Becker alongside him and beating Federer in a five-set final at Wimbledon gave him the confidence to do what he set out to do. It was an experience that allowed him to play in such an important final for the rest of his career."
Djokovic takes the side of the weakest
Meanwhile, the subject of discussion in recent weeks is the disparity in treatment, especially on an economic level, between the tennis elite and all those kids forced to make many sacrifices to try to balance their annual expenses and play the most important tournaments.
Djokovic himself talked about it, in an exclusive interview given to Sportal.rs he defended his colleague Charlie Trungelliti, who had denounced this problem: "As an organization of PTPA players, the primary objective is to increase the number of tennis players, both both male and female, who can earn a living thanks to this sport.
It's a pretty deep topic, but we want to raise public awareness of the fact that there are players in the top 180 who are unable to break even at the end of the year. They can't afford a coach, physical therapist or athletic trainer. It is a complex topic that needs to be discussed more. I will continue to use my status to speak to the media about this situation."
• The Wimbledon expansion plan was rejected• Novak Djokovic gets brutally honest on what he now thinks of his Wimbledon final loss• Tennis icon issues huge statement on Coco Gauff's 2024 Wimbledon chances• Alcaraz's victory at Wimbledon against Djokovic can be a coincidence• Ex-Wimbledon champion issues massive statement on Novak Djokovic's greatness• Nick Kyrgios gets brutally honest on nearly hitting Rafael Nadal at 2019 Wimbledon