What Novak Djokovic once said was the ‘biggest rivalry in men’s tennis’

Novak Djokovic has built a career around memorable rivalries, and even now, his story is far from finished.

He came up alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, creating what became known as the Big Three. Both have since retired, but Djokovic still finds ways to stay relevant in the sport.

The Serbian icon recently chose to skip the Miami Open, a decision that only added to the speculation about how he’s managing this stage of his career.

Now 38 years old, Djokovic is focused on adding one more major title to his collection. His first came back in 2008 at the Australian Open, a moment that started it all.

Even then, early in his rise, Djokovic called it the “biggest” rivalry on tour. Over time, though, he carved out his own place alongside them.

Novak Djokovic once called Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal the biggest rivalry in tennis

Speaking to the media at the time, he said: “Of course, I mean, that’s maybe a question for him. We don’t need to talk about him too much. He proved that he’s the best player in the world in the past three, four years, and he really deserves that spot and that honour.

“Of course, he’s one of the best ever that played this game. Now, you know, I’m one of the players who is really trying to challenge him in that matter.

“You know, as a 20-year-old, I reached the third place of the world, but I’m really not trying to rush anywhere.”

Even at 20 years old and already climbing towards third place in the world rankings back then there was a sense of purpose behind everything Djokovic did even though he didn’t want to rush his progress.

Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner have picked up where Djokovic left off – two players who are fierce competitors – just like Federer vs Nadal.

Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the 2008 Australian Open

It was a really mature and measured response from such a young player, who had lost his first Grand Slam final to Federer at the 2007 US Open.

But he got revenge against the Swiss legend in Melbourne, winning their semifinal clash, with Nadal also falling at that stage of the tournament.

Federer and Nadal were the first and second seeds respectively back then, but third seed Djokovic was the man to go all the way.

In a sign of what was to come, he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7-2) to clinch the trophy, his first of 24 Grand Slam titles.

As for his head-to-head figures with Federer and Nadal, Djokovic boasts favorable 27-23 and 31-29 records respectively.

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