Why Was Novak Never Scared of Roger Federer Not once, not twice,
but on 3 different occasions, Djokovic saved multiple Championship
points against Roger Federer when it mattered most at Grand slam matches.
Why was Novak never scared of Roger Federer? The answer might surprise you, so stick around.
In 2007, a 20-year-old Novak Djokovic blew a total of 7 set points and ended up losing the
finals of the US Open in straight sets. It was his 5th loss to Federer in their first
6 matches. And for the next 2 editions of the US Open, Novak fell to Federer at the semis.
Although he beat Federer at the Australian Open in 2008, it wasn’t until 2010, 2011 that we truly
saw a Novak that wasn’t scared of Federer. At the 2010 US Open, Djokovic saved two match
points in the 5th set and went on to end Federer's run of 6 consecutive US Open finals. The following
year, it was the same story but even more dramatic at the 2011 US Open semis. 2 match points for
Federer on his serve and what does Novak do? First, he gives a defiant look when fans cheer
for Federer on matchpoint . Next, he hits one of the best crosscourt returns you’ll ever see .
Then he gestures to the crowd letting them know that he isn’t going anywhere. After,
he cracks a smile before an error from Federer’s forehand saves the second match
point. Djokovic went on to win the match and the title and it didn’t really get better for
Federer after that. The tide had changed and Novak was now the one getting the upper hand
in their rivalry. Djokovic won the 2014,15, and 19 Wimbledon finals against the Swiss as
well as the 2015 US Open final. Although Federer had some successes against Novak,
they often came in the smaller tournaments. He was 1-4 against Novak in grand slam finals and
6-11 in their 17 grand slam matches. Throughout the last decade, Djokovic wasn’t scared of Federer
for 3 major reasons: His Mentality
Throughout his career, The Serb has won 16 matches from match point down and only
lost three while holding match points and none of those three matches he lost were
at the grand slam level. Heading into the 2010s, we saw Novak develop a formidable
mentality that the sport hadn't quite seen. Djokovic didn’t have many off days when playing
against Federer. Rather, he was mostly psyched up, especially due to the fact that he knew that the
crowd would most likely be against him and that he had nothing to lose "in a sense". Djokovic
was determined to surpass Federer’s tennis legacy and rewrite history. Even on the brink of defeat,
Djokovic’s self-belief was insane. He never doubted himself for once, even when he was
the underdog. He was fearless and willing to become aggressive at critical points and that
proved to be the difference. But apart from his mental game, he also believed he had a superior
game and more effective game. Novak’s superior game
Djokovic always raises his level of play in the most crucial moments. He
knew Federer so well that he could anticipate Federer’s serve better than any other player,
like he did when saving the first match point against Federer at the finals of Wimbledon 2019.
He was able to put Federer under pressure on every point. Also,
Djokovic One's backhand was much more effective than Federer's. To his credit, the Serb targeted
Federer's weaker backhand more often than not when going for broke against the Swiss.
Although the Swiss truly had an elegant backhand, it was no match for Novak's when under pressure.
Djokovic seemed more relaxed at times and looked like a man who had no worries even when Federer's
game was clearly better. In the 2019 Wimbledon finals, Federer outplayed Djokovic for many parts
of the game, having better serve percentages, more winners, more breaks of serve, fewer double
faults, winning more points and service games but when it came to tiebreakers, we saw another Novak
or should we say we didn't see the usual Federer? In those three tiebreaks at the 2019 Wimbledon,
Djokovic did not make any unforced errors, while Federer made a total of 11 unforced errors.
At this point, the question may be better rephrased to “Why did Federer choke against
Djokovic at the most important moments?" Was Novak truly getting into Federer's
head as many fans have suggested? Federer’s inability to finish off
his biggest rivals when he had the chance may be one of the few statistical blights in his
career. Before we address the third point, let's briefly look at some aspects of their rivalry.
Rivalry
Some stats about Federer's rivalry with Novak might surprise you:
Djokovic won all 4 of his matches with Federer that went the distance in 5 sets. Djokovic came
from a set down to beat Federer on 7 occasions, while Federer was only able to do that once. It
was Djokovic who won the majority of the deciding sets and tiebreaks and 2012 was the last time
Federer won against Novak in a grand slam event. Djokovic saved match points on 3 different
occasions against Federer while the Swiss was never able to return the favor. At this point,
you might say, "But Federer was 6 years older than Novak." The harsh truth is that age wasn't
the MAJOR deciding factor in the finals that they played or in the matches that
Novak saved match points. It had more to do with Novak's resilience and the fact that he
wasn't afraid of Federer. After his 2019 Wimbledon championship win, Djokovic said
that he tried not to lose self-belief and that he remained calm and focused the entire time.
Still, the Djokovic-Federer rivalry was close in many ways. Novak is the only man to have
beaten Roger Federer in all four majors but Federer is also the only man to have beaten
Djokovic in all four Grand Slam events. Federer even bagelled Novak once in his career. Also,
it was Federer who ended Novak's 41 match winning streak in 2011 at the French Open semifinals.
Federer won the first 2 sets while Novak took the third set and was serving for the fourth set until
Federer came back to win it in 4 sets. The pair played a total of 50 games,
with Djokovic coming out on top and winning 27 to Federer's 23 and their stats versus each other
were close on the different surfaces. Overall, Federer's record against Novak was anything
but poor. But let's digress a little and talk about one thing that might have affected their
perception of each other. Novak's Family
Djokovic and Federer weren't particularly friends early on. The Swiss and Novak's
parents never got along with each other, and on more than one occasion,
their beef was clear for all to see. Back in 2006, Serbia played Switzerland at the Davis
Cup and Djokovic was up against Federer's teammate Wawrinka. Djokovic was down 2 sets
to 1 and then took a medical timeout which didn't sit well with Federer. Djokovic came
back to win the match in 5 sets. According to Novak's father, Federer 'attacked' his son and
branded him a 'joke' for taking continuous medical timeouts and faking injuries during the match. It
was something Novak's father never forgot. Fast forward to 2008 when they were playing at Monte
Carlo and Federer had to tell Novak's family to be quiet after Novak had his shot called out.
The following year, Djokovic retired against Andy Roddick at the Australian Open and here's what
Federer had to say. In 2011 when Djokovic saved one of the match points at the US Open semis,
all Federer could do was call it a lucky shot and say that Djokovic had already checked out
of the game mentally. What do you think of those comments? This brings us to the
final point. Respect
Early on, Federer didn't seem to have enough respect for Djokovic and that could have
propelled the Serb to bring out his best against the Swiss. Even in defeat, Novak seemed to be the
more graceful one. Federer said that he talked about their issues with Djokovic in Madrid in
2012 and even blamed the press for making too much out of some of his comments. Since then,
their relationship seemed to improve. Later that year, Federer was the one speaking highly
of Djokovic ahead of their 2012 Wimbledon semi-final clash, acknowledging Djokovic's
achievements over the years. Federer stated that Djokovic was a role model even for himself,
and was one of the toughest opponents he had ever faced in his career. Federer also
praised Novak a few times after that and Novak didn't hesitate to return the favor.
By the time Federer was retiring last year, there was no doubt that the pair had a much
more respectable relationship Speaking of his father's relationship with Federer, Djokovic
refused to fan any of the flames that his father had created; instead, he reiterated that he loved
his father and was grateful for all the support throughout his career even though he didn't agree
with everything his father said. After Novak's record-equalling win at Melbourne earlier this
year, Federer was quick to congratulate him on social media for his achievements.
Outro The aim of this narrative isn't
to cause an argument between both fan bases and although it might even be flawed in your opinion,
I think we can all agree on the fact that Novak’s mentality and higher percentage game
under pressure were the biggest reasons why he was never scared of Federer even when the stakes
were highest. The Federer-Djokovic rivalry will go down as one of the greatest ever in
the history of the sport and both players deserve our respect for their contribution to the sport.
But can anything really stop Novak Djokovic? I guess you have to watch this video to find out.