Novak Djokovic reveals his toughest opponent and the two best moments of his career
Novak Djokovic has chosen his biggest rival between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and also named the highlights of his incredible career.
The Big Three of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer make up the top three for the most men’s Grand Slam titles won in the history of tennis, having secured 24, 22 and 20 majors respectively.
From Federer’s first Grand Slam triumph at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships to Djokovic’s most recent at the 2023 US Open, the Big Three won all but 15 of the 81 majors held during a staggering period of dominance.
Djokovic‘s epic rivalries with Nadal and Federer are the two most prolific matchups in the Open Era of men’s tennis in terms of most matches played.
The Serbian amassed a 31-29 edge over Nadal from the pair’s 60 record meetings and finished with a 27-23 advantage from his 50 encounters with Federer.
Djokovic was beaten by Matteo Berrettini in the first round of the Qatar Open ATP 500 tournament.
The 37-year-old legend was asked which player is the toughest opponent he has faced at en event in Doha, where he was speaking in his role as the Global Brand Ambassador for Qatar Airways.
“You probably know the names Federer and Nadal,” Djokovic replied. “I would say Nadal would be the one that probably stands out as my biggest opponent and biggest rival. Yes.”
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The former world No 1 also discussed the best moments of his career and pinpointed his 2024 Olympic gold medal triumph as his single biggest highlight.
“The best moment is the next winning moment (laughs),” the world No 7 said. “I’m saying this half jokingly, but also half serious because in tennis you have to kind of get used to turning the next page and focusing on the next task and next challenge very quickly.
“We have tournaments happening more or less every week and it’s been a very successful but very intense 20-year period for me of the professional career and I’ve been blessed to experience the greatest achievements and achieve the greatest things that this sport has to offer.
“So of course Grand Slams, first Grand Slam that I won in Wimbledon in 2011 because it was my dream tournament when I was young.
“But, I would say gold medal for my country last year would be probably the highlight of my entire career.”
Djokovic also recalled how he fell in love with tennis as a young child in Serbia.
“I grew up on the mountains in my country and that’s where I actually started to play tennis when I was four or five years old,” he explained.
“It happened by accident, even though in life there are no accidents, everything happens for a reason, so I saw a couple of tennis courts that were being made and I was helping the workers to make the tennis courts and I was of course very young and curious.
“So in return for me bringing them drinks and helping them construct the tennis court, I got free hours when the court were being made. So that’s how I fell in love with this beautiful sport.”
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