Roger Federer ‘okay’ with Rafael Nadal and/or Novak Djokovic surpassing his Grand Slam record

Shahida Jacobs
January 17, 2020

He admits he cares “to some extent”, but Roger Federer insists he won’t be heartbroken should Rafael Nadal and/or Novak Djokovic surpass his Grand Slam record.

Federer leads the way in terms of majors as he currently holds 20 Grand Slam trophies with the last coming at the 2018 Australian Open.

However, Nadal and Djokovic are closing in very quickly as the former took his tally to 19 when he won the 2019 US Open and Roland Garros while Djokovic now sits on 16 after winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon last year.

“I think the way it’s going, obviously, Rafa and Novak will win more,” Federer told The Associated Press during an interview in Dubai, “because they’re that good. And the season they had (in 2019), again, shows that there is more to come for them.”

He added: “I guess you do care, to some extent, just because it’s normal.”

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Federer became the Grand Slam record holder when he won Wimbledon in 2009, surpassing his idol Pete Sampras’ total of 14.

However, he went through a slump after that and also picked up a serious knee injury in 2016 after which many felt he wouldn’t add any more Slams to his collection.

However, he managed to win three more “amazing” majors.

“I looked up to him so much that I felt, also, uncomfortable maybe, sometimes, breaking his records. It’s not something I ever wanted to do. It just happened to be like this. But of course I knew it was a big, big-time moment in our sport. And I think those are the moments you will remember,” he said.

“Now, at the end, if somebody else would pass you, I mean, I guess it’s okay, because that’s what sports is all about. It’s a lot about numbers. It’s a lot about records. But I had my moment and I always said everything that comes after 15 was, anyway, a bonus. And especially after the knee injury (in 2016), everything that came after that was a bonus. I would have taken one more Slam, and I was able to get three more – and three amazing ones.”

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Novak Djokovic Rafael Nadal Roger Federer