“Federer Played the Perfect Match”: When Novak Djokovic Hitting and Not Apologizing to Roger Did Not Help at Shanghai Masters

The Shanghai Masters is set to return to the ATP Tour soon after a gap of 4 years. One of the highlights from the tournament’s history is the 2014 semi-final match between the legends, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. During the match, Djokovic infamously hit Federer on his left side while attempting a forehand. Following the match, the Serbian lauded the way Federer played the match, calling it “perfect”.

Novak Djokovic did not even bother apologizing to the 20-time Grand Slam champion for that as he probably felt he played out the perfect point to win. However, Roger Federer showed his class, winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Federer went on to win the title, defeating Gilles Simon in the final.

The two different sides of Novak Djokovic seen in Shanghai

Novak Djokovic is renowned for having a win-at-all-costs mentality, and being a beast on the court. However, if he loses a match, normally he is gracious enough to congratulate his opponent in person or in post-match interviews/press conferences. Yet, perhaps why Djokovic has not found as much popularity over the years as Federer is because of incidents such as hitting a hard forehand on Federer’s left side which must have hurt.

Federer might not have shown the pain to his credit but not receiving an apology stunned many. After the match too, Djokovic did not address the incident, opting to instead admit that his rival played an ‘amazing’ match. He was quoted as saying to the ATP Tour –

“I think I did not play too bad. It’s just that he played everything he wanted to play. He played the perfect match… an amazing match.” 

Here is the incident in question, which was recently shared by the ATP Tour ahead of the tournament as that Federer-Djokovic match would complete 9 years soon.

 

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All-time Federer records which Djokovic could equal or break

Novak Djokovic missed out on winning his 8th Wimbledon title this year in London, losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the final. It would have made the Serb equal Federer’s tally with no other player winning as many. The World No.1 also has an opportunity next year to win an Olympic gold medal like Federer, who did so in 2008 although in the doubles format.

Djokovic would aim to win the 5th US Open title of his career in 2024, which would make him equal Federer’s numbers in New York City as well. This year itself though, the Serb would look to win his 7th ATP World Tour Finals title in Turin. Currently, Djokovic and Federer are tied with 6 titles apiece, with no player coming near them in the last 20 years.