"You like Novak Djokovic because he hates who you hate; sad" - Fans furious as American congresswoman slams Rafael Nadal for picking Federer over Serb

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney faced the heat from tennis fans on social media for slamming Rafael Nadal over choosing Roger Federer as a more exciting player than Novak Djokovic.

Tenney has been a member of the US House of Representatives from New York's 24th congressional district since 2023. She is an active member of the Republican Party.

Tenney recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to denounce Nadal's recent remarks on Djokovic.

"Disappointing envy from Nadal. @djokernole is not only the greatest tennis player - EVER - for so many reasons, he’s my choice as the greatest athlete in the modern era. No one else has had the mental toughness and grace to overcome the needless obstacles and petty political tropes hurled at him repeatedly," she tweeted.

The congresswoman was heavily criticized by tennis buffs for her statement. One fan slammed Tenney for quoting a tweet from an "established Nadal hater" while making her claim.

"Typical of a conservative politician to not check for context in the interview, use an established Nadal hater for their source & then use their official platform to spout lies & hatred. Par for the course for Molefarmers, most of whom are anti vaxx conspiracy theorists," the fan wrote.

Another fan chimed in with:

"Using an official account for this kind of thing is quite shameful, even more so when you don’t check the sources and the background of the person you are citing. So disappointing. By the way, any takes or comments on issues the citizens really need you to work on?"

A third fan argued that Claudia Tenney's inclination toward Novak Djokovic exists only because he "hates" liberals.

"Lol you would throw him overboard and cancel him the second he said something against your politics. as with the entire conservative movement, you simply like him because he hates who you hate: liberals. You have no ideology other than that which you oppose. It's sad," the fan tweeted.

Here are a few more reactions from X:

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A look into Rafael Nadal's statement on Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer

Laver Cup 2022 - Day One

In an interview with Spanish publication El Pais, Rafael Nadal said that he enjoyed watching Roger Federer play tennis.

"Since I can remember, he [Federer] is the player who has impressed me the most, the one who has entertained me the most, the one who has excited me the most," he said.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion further suggested that the Swiss maestro brought more emotion to the sport than Novak Djokovic. He said:

"I have been more excited to see Federer play than Djokovic, and in the end tennis is emotion, emotion is what draws you to it.

In terms of their head-to-head, the Spaniard leads Federer 24-16 but marginally trails Djokovic 29-30.