"People think it’s better if fans don’t like me" - When Novak Djokovic opened up on learning to deal with 'hostile environments'

In an interview in December last year, Novak Djokovic stated that learning to thrive in hostile environments has helped him become one of the best players on the ATP tour.

When Djokovic broke onto the scene in 2008, the men's tour was being dominated by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. They were also the fan favorites at tournaments across the world.

Despite the Serbian beginning to establish himself, he could never garner the same support as Nadal and Federer. He was widely considered to be the 'outsider' who broke up the duopoly of the Spaniard and the Swiss maestro.

Speaking about the same on CBS' 60 Minutes show in December last year, Djokovic stated that he learned to deal with hostile environments early in his career.

“For most of my career it was mostly hostile environments, but I learned how to thrive in that environment. People think it’s actually better if fans don’t like me. It gets the best out of my tennis,” he said (via a recent piece on Sports Illustrated).

Despite their rivalry, the former World No. 1 credited Nadal and Federer for playing an important role in shaping his career.

“Because they were so good in their craft, and because they were so mentally strong and so consistent, they forced me to really rise to their level. [The rivalry] has given me the ability to understand what my flaws are, what my disadvantages are compared to them,” he said, as per the aforementioned SI piece by Jon Wertheim.

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Rafael Nadal: "The image Novak Djokovic projects is worse than what he really is"

Novak Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam champion.

While Novak Djokovic has thrived in the negative perception fans have had about him for many years, his long-term rival Rafael Nadal recently spoke highly of him.

The two have been locked in the battle for the most Grand Slam titles for the last few years. Nadal took the lead (22) in 2022 when he won the Australian Open and French Open.

Last year, Djokovic clinched the Melbourne Major, Roland Garros, and the US Open to take his tally to an Open Era record 24 Grand Slams. He also came very close to defending his Wimbledon title, losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

Speaking about the Serbian, Nadal admitted that he was actually a very good person and that he does not project his true image to the world.

“The image he projects is worse than what he really is. He is a good person, with his mistakes. But much better than what he looks like. Novak breaks the racquet but at the next point he is one hundred percent, that’s why he is the one who has achieved the most in the history of our sport,” he said during a recent interview with El Objective de la Sexta (via Times Now).