"Why I never liked Roger Federer"; "Remained silent for 18 long years" - Fans angered by Swiss confessing initial ‘lack of respect’ for Novak Djokovic

Roger Federer irked tennis fans on the internet by confessing his 'lack of respect' for Novak Djokovic in the initial years of their rivalry. The two came face-to-face for the first time in a Round-of-64 battle at the 2006 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Federer won that match 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, and three more before the Serb opened his account in the head-to-head tally by claiming the 2007 Canadian Open final 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-6(2). Overall, the two have clashed 50 times on the court with Djokovic holding a 27-23 lead in the head-to-head.

Their rivalry ended with Djokovic trumping Federer 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals of the 2020 Australian Open as the two played against each other henceforth till the Swiss' retirement in 2022.

After nearly 18 years of stiff competition, the Swiss has reflected on his first impression of the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

"I played him in Monaco the very first time and I walked off the court and thought, 'Yeah, he’s OK'. Even though there was some hype around him, I wasn't really fully convinced. I think I didn’t give Novak the respect he deserved because of his technical flaws… But then he ironed those things out super well and became an unbelievable monster of a player," Federer said in a promotional video clip for his forthcoming documentary 'Roger: Twelve Final Days'.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion's confession has angered tennis fans on X (formerly Twitter). The consensus among the fans has been about the Swiss' admission being incredibly delayed.

"And this man remained silent for 18 long years of his misgivings, his bullying, his saltiness. The one where a World #1 is unable to appreciate an upcoming young player and sends his PR machinery on him. SHAME," a fan wrote.

"This is why I never liked Fed. He’s better now but I’ll never forget how he treated him when he was a young talent. Nole was younger than Sinner & Alcaraz back then and Fed behaved as a jerk. That had a big influence on Nole’s career. Nole is different! He’s the best," wrote another.

Here are a few more reactions from X:

"That's the first time that I see Roger acknowledging the lack of respect he had for Novak in the early days. Apologising also would be nice. I reckon is not longer the case now. Roger learned the hard way what kind of player and person Novak is. 3 lost Wimbledon finals did that," a fan stated.

"what a hypocrite," a fan commented.

"So Federer is just saying what we have been saying for ages. Lol. What brand new revelation. Easy for him to say this now that he's retired," a fan remarked.

"Real tennis fans know this but it is good to hear it out of Rogers mouth himself…. Finally," a fan wrote.

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Roger Federer: "Novak Djokovic was the party crasher of Rafa and Roger fans"

Novak Djokovic holds the 2011 Wimbledon men's singles trophy. (Photo: Getty)

In the aforementioned video clip, Roger Federer opined Novak Djokovic played the spoilsport for his and Rafael Nadal's fans by amassing wins and becoming the third biggest name in tennis.

"I guess he was the party crasher of Rafa and Roger fans. There was a lot of Rafa-Roger love there, so when Novak came probably a lot of people said, 'Look, we don't need a third guy. We're happy with Roger and Rafa'," the Swiss said.

The former World No. 1 also revealed looking through the media narrative around Djokovic to learn about the Serb's true personality.

"I think he's been a little bit misunderstood. I look past the media and I see at the end the man he is. If I take away his game, who is he? What are his values? I know he cares very deeply about his family," the 42-year-old added.

Notably, Federer bid adieu to tennis in the presence of Djokovic as his teammate at the 2022 Laver Cup, suggesting the two had moved on from their frictional past.