Swiss tennis great Roger Federer has paid tribute to Novak Djokovic’s recent historic triumph at the French Open by describing it as ‘unbelievable.’
At Roland Garros Djokovic defeated Casper Ruud in straight sets to become the first man to win a 23rd Grand Slam title. Moving him one ahead of rival Rafael Nadal and three ahead of Federer. The Serbian is also the only male player to have won each of the four majors on three or more occasions, as well as the oldest men’s French Open champion at the age of 36.
Djokovic heads into Wimbledon as the firm favourite where he will be seeking to win the tournament for the fifth time in a row. His dominance at the big events has been praised by his former rival.
“It’s almost unbelievable,” Federer told reporters in Halle on Wednesday.
“What he did is of course absolutely gigantic,” he added.
The two tennis titans have squared off against each other 50 times on the ATP Tour with Djokovic winning 27 of those meetings. Their last clash was at the 2020 Australian Open which the current world No.1 won in straight sets.
Following his latest achievement, some have labelled Djokovic as the greatest player in history. A debate that has been going on for years with others in favour of giving the accolade to Federer or Rafael Nadal. Ask for his view on the matter, the Swiss refused to get involved.
“It’s difficult to say. The whole discussion is difficult to answer. I said to a friend: What’s more difficult: winning Wimbledon at 17 like Boris Becker or the French Open at 36 like Novak? I don’t know,” he said.
Federer is a special guest at the Terra Wortmann Open today in Halle. Dubbed ‘Roger Federer day,’ the event celebrates the tournament’s 30th anniversary, as well as 10-time winner Federer who retired from the sport last September. A special on-court presentation took place earlier this afternoon after Daniil Medvedev’s win over Laslo Djere.
“It was always a special place for me,” he said of Halle. “So it’s very nice to be back and meeting friends.”
The event was a rare public appearance for the 41-year-old who has stepped away from the limelight since retiring. He revealed that during six months, his foundation received 12,000 enquiries which included requests from the media, sponsors and tournaments.
“Maybe I made a bit of a mistake, too. Because I told a lot of people, let me know when I stopped, and now the wave is coming in,” he commented.
Federer won a total of 103 ATP titles during his career.
Quotes via DPA/Sportschau and translated into English
