Novak Djokovic’s mother has slammed Roger Federer, branding the Swiss star as ‘a bit arrogant’ in an explosive interview. Dijana…
Novak Djokovic’s mother has slammed Roger Federer, branding the Swiss star as ‘a bit arrogant’ in an explosive interview.
Dijana Djokovic said Federer was ‘arrogant’ during the 2019 Wimbledon final, while she also declared her son was propelled to victory by God.
Djokovic famously edged Federer in an all-time classic Wimbledon showpiece, prevailing 7-6 1-6 7-6 4-6 13-12 in the longest final in the tournament’s history.
Federer couldn’t convert two championship points – and Dijana believes that divine intervention may have played a part in Djokovic’s miraculous escape.
“I saw a lot of matches, but Wimbledon was the most difficult last year,” she said, according to Sport Blic.
“When Federer had two match points, I grabbed my cross from the Don River. I am a believer, I wear the amulet all the time, it has often saved me in difficult moments.
“I said to myself: ‘Nole, you can do it, you’ve done it twice, you can do it again.’ And he did it.
“He was saved by God. Novak also believes in God, he feels chosen. He carries a cross that brings him peace and happiness.”
Dijana then commented on the crowd, who were firmly on the side of Federer throughout the encounter.
Djokovic has often struggled to gain the support of spectators around the world – at least to the same level of Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“In a stadium where everyone was cheering on Roger Federer, we were just a handful of fans for Novak,” Dijana continued.
“It’s not nice that I’m annoyed by Federer or others at such moments. But it annoyed me because Federer is a bit arrogant.”
It’s not the first time the Djokovic family has launched a verbal attack on Federer, with Novak’s father Srdan doing so repeatedly over the years.
Srdan first criticised Federer’s character in 2013 when he said “Federer is perhaps still the best tennis player in history, but as a man he’s the opposite”.
Djokovic apologised for his father’s comments at the time, but Srdan delivered another attack towards Federer earlier this year, accusing the Swiss of being ‘jealous’ of his son.
“Federer has been jealous of Novak from the moment he made his breakthrough because he knew that my son was better than him and that he would tower over him,” Srdan said.
“Federer is an outstanding tennis player, but I couldn’t say that about his humanity.”