Roger Federer has inspired many tennis players due to his exploits on tour. But he didn’t only inspire the players from the next generation; he also had a massive effect on players who were playing during his prime. One of the biggest examples of that is Novak Djokovic. A former coach of the Serbian star revealed how Federer impacted Djokovic when he was a younger player.

Federer and Djokovic do not have a great bond when it comes to their relationships with other players. But the two do not have any bad blood between each other. Djokovic has even asked for advice from the Swiss Maestro, which only shows how the Serbinator perceives him.

The Roger Federer effect on Novak Djokovic

When Novak Djokovic was a rookie, Roger Federer was an established player and certified future Hall of Famer. When Djokovic rose to the top, Federer became one of his rivals. While the two became opponents many times, the two impacted each other greatly. In an excerpt from the ‘Roger Federer Effect’, Marian Vajda, former coach of the Serbinator, recently revealed how the Swiss Maestro impacted his former student. 

“The effect of Roger on Novak was immense. He drove him to be better. We saw him as the most talented player because he makes everything look easy. Everything is in flow. His strokes, his serve. His serve is just amazing.”

While talking about his serving mastery, Vajda also talked about how everything came naturally to Federer and how Djokovic had to work hard for it. But the 24-time grand slam champion was adamant on overcoming Federer’s natural affinity. 

“For Roger, everything comes naturally; Novak had to work for that. But he was committed to doing it. He improved by working more. Novak didn’t have a serve like Roger at the beginning. But he improved it, and now he’s serving great. That proves that talent is only 20, maybe 30 per cent, but everything else is hard work. And Novak was committed to putting in the hard work to be able to challenge Roger.” 

Djokovic challenged Federer and overcame him many times. While their relationship became a little sour, the two maintained a respectable bond and even asked each other for advice on personal matters.

Pro dad imparts advice to rookie dad

Everyone in the tennis world knows that Federer and Djokovic aren’t good friends. But that didn’t factor into the conversation the two had about becoming dads. When Djokovic became a father for the first time, Federer had been a father for five years. Worrying about the new stage of his life, the Serbian asked his rival for advice on how he managed to handle becoming a father that came with the pressures of the sport.

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Federer revealed the advice he shared, which entailed talking about everything that worked and didn’t work for him in the past. The conversation helped Djokovic immensely as he managed to continue his dominance on the tennis court despite entering a new stage in his life. This goes to show the impact Federer has had on Djokovic aside from tennis as well.  

What do you make of the Serbian’s coach’s claims? Let us know in the comments section below.

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