Novak Djokovic ‘felt like unwanted baby’ compared to Federer, Nadal; admits to changing demeanour to win fans over | Tennis News

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal on the Spaniard’s farewell ceremony at Roland Garros. (AP)

Novak Djokovic has opened up about his advanced journey as a part of tennis’s famend ‘Big 3’ alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, revealing the emotional challenges he confronted regardless of his exceptional achievements. In a latest Failures of Champions interview with Slaven Bilic, Djokovic mentioned his place because the document holder of 24 Grand Slam titles, surpassing each Federer’s 20 and Nadal’s 22, whereas addressing the perceived lack of adoration from fans compared to his rivals.“I am a man with many flaws, of course. Nevertheless, I have always tried to live with heart and good intentions and, ultimately, to be myself,” Djokovic mirrored on his tennis journey.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The Serbian champion spoke candidly about feeling like an outsider within the celebrated trio.“I felt like the unwanted child in the trio. I often questioned why that was the case, and it was painful,” Djokovic admitted. “I thought changing my demeanour might win them over, but that proved ineffective too.”
Djokovic attributed a part of the fan response to geographical and cultural components, significantly when he emerged as a challenger to the established Federer-Nadal dynamic.“The two of them had already developed a rivalry before I came along because Nadal broke through a few years before me. They come from Switzerland, from Spain, so Western powers. There are these orientations and there are affiliations. I never achieved the same level of adoration as Federer and Nadal because, in a way, I wasn’t supposed to disrupt their narrative. I was the third man who boldly declared, ‘I’m going to be number one.‘ Not everyone welcomed that,” he defined.Discussing the character of his relationships with Federer and Nadal, Djokovic emphasised his respect for each rivals.“Just because someone is my biggest rival doesn’t mean I wish them harm, hate them, or want to do anything else on the court to defeat them. We fought for the win, and the better player won,” Djokovic remarked. “I’ve always respected both Federer and Nadal; I’ve never said a single bad word about them and never will. I looked up to them and still do. But I’ve always gotten along better with Nadal.”The Serbian participant supplied his evaluation of the distinct taking part in types inside the Big 3.“When we compare Federer, Nadal and me – Federer is the most talented, the most beautiful to watch, he spent his energy the most efficiently, he moved so slowly, so elegantly, so efficiently, while Nadal is the other contrast, the other extreme. Physicality is maximum, and I’m somewhere in between, but more towards Nadal. Each of us had some of our own characteristics and as time went on, our rivalries complemented each other and strengthened.“Djokovic acknowledged the numerous influence of those rivalries on his profession improvement.“We always say that through these rivalries, the three of us contributed to developing into the tennis players and people and competitors that we have become. I say without a doubt, the rivalry with those two had the most influence on my development, especially in the second part of my career,” he concluded.These revelations got here following Djokovic’s latest exit from the French Open within the semi-finals, the place he was defeated by Jannik Sinner.