Everything was “vibrating” according to Novak Djokovic when the Serbian had to face his two greatest rivals on “their” courts: Roger Federer, the most successful player on grass, at Wimbledon’s Centre Court; and Rafael Nadal, king of clay, at Roland Garros’ Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic appeared on the scene to challenge a duopoly that not only was winning everything but also enjoyed the full love of the fans. Now, with his great opponents retired, Djokovic shared revealing insights about how he experienced his rivalries against the Swiss and the Spaniard, whom he faced a total of 110 times.
“My rivalry with them had the biggest influence on my development as an athlete, especially from 2011 onwards,” said the 24-time Grand Slam champion in a conversation with former Croatian footballer Slaven Bilic on Failures of Champions.
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Djokovic singled out two moments that best symbolized that sporting relationship. He was always the “visitor,” playing with the crowd against him when facing his classic rivals, but at Europe’s biggest tournaments, everything intensified.
“When you walked into the main stadium at Roland Garros to face Nadal, you didn’t feel indifferent,” the Serbian explained.
“Visual perception plays an important role. For example, if you play in Geneva, the distance between the court and the stands meets the minimum standard; whereas Roland Garros feels like entering a football stadium. Fifteen meters from the baseline to the wall!”
The former world No. 1 admitted that the dimensions of the Philippe Chatrier played a fundamental role during his early matches against the Spaniard there.
“Nadal played deep, and his heavy topspin kept pushing you to the back of the court constantly. Back then, I felt like I simply couldn’t go through, no matter what I did. He would reach every ball. That visual perception of the court — so wide on the sides and deep — made hitting a winner even harder,” he explained.
The Serbian was the only player able to beat Nadal on the Parisian clay more than once: “I was the only one able to beat him three or four times on that court.” In total, there were three victories — twice at the French Open (2015, 2021) and at the Paris 2024 Olympics, in their latest meeting.
Djokovic’s feelings about challenging Federer on the Swiss player’s favourite court were very similar. On the Centre Court, however, the Serbian’s dominance was clear in London, where he beat the 20-time Grand Slam winner three times (all in finals) and lost only once.
“Every time I played him there, you felt that everything was vibrating,” Djokovic recalled.
“Even before stepping onto the court… in the locker room, all day you felt that something special was happening — it was like an out-of-body experience. You felt it through the people, the media, everything. You get a tingling sensation, because you know you’re living something unique,” said the seven-time champion at the All England Club.
The Serbian admitted that not having the crowd’s support overwhelmed him at first: “Wimbledon was always Federer’s court, Roland Garros was Nadal’s… I knew I wouldn’t have most of the crowd on my side. And that was the case, from the very first point until the end.”
“At first, it affected me a lot. I couldn’t get over it, because I was fighting not only against them but also against myself…” Djokovic said, who leads the overall head-to-head against Federer (27–23) and Nadal (31–29).
“People said, ‘Djokovic needs to be provoked to bring out his best,’ and in some situations that might have been true, but… who wants to step on court with people booing? That wasn’t what I wanted.”
