"Rafael Nadal has become a bit more salty, Novak Djokovic has become all about his mamba mindset": Fans react to Roger Federer praising his rivals

Several tennis fans on the internet were happy to hear Roger Federer praising his former rivals, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Federer retired from tennis in September 2022. In a recent interview with CGTN Sports Scene, he stated that he cherishes the memories from his on-court battles with Djokovic and Nadal.

The Swiss first played the Spaniard in the year 2004, and his first tie against the Serb came in 2006.

"I was really happy and fortunate to play against them, almost 40 to 50 times each. So, I have a lot of memories from a lot of great matches and battles. I’ve answered questions about them so so many times and I can always say the best things about them," the Swiss maestro said.

Tennis buffs were appreciative of Federer for his kind words. One of them on Reddit wrote:

"To all you sweaty nerds attacking or defending the big 3, pay close attention to this. All of the big 3 have a family now and Roger’s perspective here is genuine. At a certain point you begin to understand what is important in life and for all 3 of them they will (most likely already do) feel accomplishments in tennis are not what they care about most. So they’re happy to see others doing well."

Another fan chimed in, saying:

"Look at the way he speaks, no comment on frustration or obsession for someone else. This is the way. Some people should learn to give interviews from Novak and Roger."

A third fan opined that Federer has been more pleasant on the ears than the other two in the recent past. The fan suggested that a patchy professional ride for Nadal lately has made him resentful, whereas Djokovic has been taking his job too seriously.

"100%. To be honest, I am a Djokodal fan but over the last few years I’ve enjoyed hearing from Federer the most. I feel like Rafa has become a bit more salty over the years (especially after some bad losses to lower ranked players and injuries) and Djokovic has become all about his mamba mindset," the fan wrote.

Reactions from Reddit.

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Fan reactions from Reddit.

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A brief account of Roger Federer's rivalry with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal

The Big 3 at the Laver Cup 2022 - Day One

Roger Federer played Novak Djokovic a total of 50 times and squared off against Rafael Nadal on 40 occasions.

In his first four matches against Djokovic, Federer appeared invincible. The Serb finally won his first match against the 20-time Grand Slam champion in the final of the 2007 Canadian Open.

Their rivalry ended at the Australian Open semifinals in 2020, with the head-to-head account reading 27-23 in the Serb's favor.

In his first encounter against Nadal, Federer suffered a defeat in straight sets at the Miami Open. In the initial phase of their rivalry, it was the Spaniard who collected more wins, whereas the Swiss fared better towards the end.

The duo last played against each other at the Wimbledon Championships in 2019 where Federer scored his 16th win against Nadal's 24.