‘Novak Djokovic’s arrogance makes him who he is. I love that about him,’ says former sparring partner
Roger Federer has the “presence and elegance”, Rafael Nadal’s aura comes from “what you hear” while Novak Djokovic “has a bit more of an arrogance to him”.
That is the verdict from Mike Digby – the coach of WTA player Tamara Zidansek and a former hitting partner of some of the biggest names in tennis – after he was asked how he would differentiate between the Big Three.
Former NCAA college player Digby has quite the CV in terms of sparring partners as he has not only shared practice courts with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, but also with the likes of Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Naomi Osaka.
Having spent time with the Big Three, the British coach – who started coaching Zidansek on a full-time basis after Wimbledon this year – gave a unique insight into their different auras during an interview with Sportskeeda.
“It is difficult because they all bring an aura. I speak about this word a lot, like an aura to the tennis court. They have a strong presence but if I was blindfolded, they’re very different auras,” Digby said.
“I would say Federer, you can feel his presence just through the pure quality of ball striking. So just the sound of the ball off the strings, the elegance that he brings when he does it, just the calm and class that he brings, you can just feel it.
“But on the flip side, Nadal would be someone that you can hear, right? His aura comes through what you hear through the heaviness of the strike, through the grunt, obviously, through the feet that you can kind of just hear him scurrying his feet.
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“Novak has a blend of those two. He has a bit more of an arrogance to him. And I love that about him. That’s genuinely not a negative comment at all. I think that if he didn’t have that, he wouldn’t be the Novak Djokovic that we all know. It makes him who he is.”
Federer, Nadal and Djokovic were initially in a tight battle in terms of the greatest tennis player of all time, but many believe the debate has been settled as Djokovic leads the list for most Grand Slams (24 to Nadal’s 22 and Federer’s 20) while he has also set numerous other records.
Digby added: “It makes him, in my opinion, the greatest that has ever played the game purely from a tennis standpoint. So yeah, if I was blindfolded, I think those would be my type of feel and hear really.”
