‘Don’t Want To Do Anything’- When a Russian Top Player Lambasted Roger Federer for Not Siding With Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic During an Internal Player Discussion

The glorious career of Roger Federer has made him one of the torchbearers of tennis. His chivalrous attitude both on and off the court is admired by all tennis enthusiasts equally. This has brought a lot of popularity to the sport while also pointing out the various issues in the sport.

Back in 2012, renowned players like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were raising their voices for improving the conditions of the players. However, Federer, on the other hand, chose to remain silent during this period. His passive attitude evoked sharp criticism from the former world no. 3, Nikolay Davydenko.

Nikolay Davydenko criticized Roger Federer for his passive stance

The Russian player was among the raising voices who asked for improving the conditions of men’s tennis. He did not shy away from questioning the inactive voice of such an influential player. He said, “I don’t know why Roger is not supporting the players. Because he don’t want… any problems.” Furthermore, he talked about the persona the Swiss Maestro has developed, “He’s nice guy… winning Grand Slams. He’s from Switzerland. He’s perfect.” 

Davydenko took a dig at the player and said, “He don’t want to do anything, he just try to be an outsider from this one.” Along with the Russian player, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal had raised their voices. Nadal had also criticized Federer for his silence on the matter.

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However, Federer claimed that his silence did not define his stance, he just had a different way of approaching the issue. The 20-time Grand Slam champ said, “I just have a different way of going at it. I’m not discussing it with you guys in the press room. It creates unfortunately sometimes negative stories.”

The long-awaited comeback of Federer

Roger Federer was last seen on the court at SW19 in 2021 when he reached the quarter-finals. After that, the player underwent several knee surgeries which made him withdraw from the hard-court season last year. In June, Federer announced that he will participate in the Laver Cup followed by the Swiss Indoors Basel.

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It will be exciting to watch him play in a team that includes the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. However, his participation in a grand slam event is not yet confirmed. Though, there is a small chance that we might see him in the Australian Open in 2023.