Tennis superstar Roger Federer is the most loved athlete on the men’s Tour by some distance. While rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have also enjoyed similar success on the court, the manner in which the Swiss ace has gone about his journey has been full of elegance. 

However, a while ago, former Grand Slam champion Boris Becker criticized Federer in his book, “Boris Becker’s Wimbledon”. He felt that the 40-year-old player does not show his real self in fear of his lucrative endorsement deals and his global image.  

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Roger Federer was taunted by his idol Boris Becker

 The Swiss maestro was surprised by Becker’s comments. Becker had been one of the players Roger had looked up to while growing up and, undoubtedly, his comments would have disoriented the 20-time Grand Slam champion. 

He had responded then and stated, “I don’t really know what he was trying to say. I know him somewhat well and we get along really well. He was a hero of mine. It’s odd to hear that. I don’t try to please everyone. I’m just trying to be myself. Does [Becker] get carried away by seeing too many advertisings [of me]? Maybe. And then he thinks, ‘Oh, that’s [Federer’s] image.’ But he knows very well who I am. Books are there to be sold. I read into that [comment] a bit more like that.”

However, these comments were made when the German was coaching Roger’s rival, Novak Djokovic. They worked together from 2013 to 2016, during which Novak won seven Grand Slam titles. 

During Becker’s association with Djokovic, they managed to get the better of Federer in the Grand Slam finals at the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open. 

As of today, Djokovic is on 20 Grand Slam titles along with Federer and Nadal. It will be interesting to see how things turn out in the upcoming season. 

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