Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have had numerous iconic moments during their encounters on the tennis court. However, during the Laver Cup in 2022, the duo produced an unforgettable incident outside the four lines. While speaking to some reporters, the two players for Team Europe had a hilarious verbal altercation, leaving their other rival in the Big Three and then teammate in the tournament, Rafael Nadal in splits.
With the Laver Cup 2022 being the last tournament that Roger Federer was playing before retiring, a reporter asked Novak Djokovic in a press conference about his most memorable matchup with the Swiss.
Reporter: “What’s the most memorable one that sticks in the memory, whether a defeat or loss that would sort of come to mind?”
At first, the Serbian spoke about the US Open 2007 – his first Grand Slam final ever. Even though Djoko was on the losing side (6-7, 6-7, 4-6) of that encounter, his run to the finals helped instill faith.
Federer seemed pleasantly surprised that his rival picked a contest that the latter suffered a loss. However, the Joker went on to remind everyone of the 2019 Wimbledon finals that he clinched a 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12 victory.
The response left every personnel in the room laughing, including Rafael Nadal. Take a look at their hilarious conversation:
Novak: “I’ll pick my first Grand Slam finals – US Open 2007. I lost that match…”
Roger: “He’s being nice now. Thank you, Novak!”
Novak: “Wait, I haven’t finished, wait.”
Roger: “We’re gonna get to the other 20+ matches.”
Novak: “That was the first Grand Slam final, obviously it was a remarkable experience for me at the time. Kind of a first match that allowed me to believe that I belong to that level. And then, 2019 – sorry, Roger – Finals of Wimbledon.”
Roger: “What happened, I blocked it out.”
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have faced each other on 50 occasions, with the former being more successful on, having a 27-23 record. Out of their 50 encounters, Djoko was spot-on by dubbing the Wimbledon 2019 final as the most iconic.
