Former British No 1 gives his verdict on ‘spikey’ Novak Djokovic press conference repost

Kevin Palmer 30 Jan 2026 9:00 AM

Novak Djokovic and Greg Rusedski

Novak Djokovic hit out at a journalist for his ‘disrespectful’ comment in his Australian Open press conference following a fortunate victory over Lorenzo Musetti at the Australian Open and now former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has given his verdict on the incident.

Djokovic was not impressed when the reporter suggested he has been chasing his rivals for most of his career, starting with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, before he started a new chase to close the gap on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner over the last couple of years.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner was quick to point out that he had a long period when he was the dominant force in men’s tennis, with his comments sparking plenty of debate.

“I find it a little bit disrespectful that you kind of miss out on what happened in between where, the times when I started chasing, as you say, Rafa and Roger, and now that I’m chasing Carlos and Jannik,” he stated.

“And there’s probably about a 15-year period in between where I was dominating the Grand Slams. So I think it’s important to put that in prospect and perspective.

“I don’t feel like I’m chasing, to be honest. Roger and Rafa will always be my greatest rivals. I have tremendous respect for what Jannik and Carlos are doing, and they continue to do, and they will do for the next 10 to 15, 20 years. God knows how many years they’re going to play, they’re so young.

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“This is a kind of natural cycle in sports. You’re going to have another two superstars that are going to maybe have another third guy that I’m going to cheer for, because I’ve always been the third guy at the beginning. But it’s good for our sport, I think these kind of rivalries, and the contrast of the personalities and the styles of play, are very good for tennis.

“And how is that affecting me? As I said, I don’t feel like I’m chasing. I’m creating my own history, and I think I’ve been very clear when I say that my intention is always to, in terms of achievements and objectives and results, I want to get to the championship match in every tournament, particularly Slams. And Slams are one of the biggest reasons why I keep on competing and playing tennis. So yeah, that’s all I can say.”

Djokovic had every right to snap back at the question that was phrased in an unfortunate manner and now former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has given his verdict on an incident that has been a big talking point in tennis.

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Speaking on the latest edition of his Off Court with Greg podcast, Rusedski defended Djokovic and insisted the Serbian’s response was not misplaced.

“He was a little spikey in the press conference when they said ‘are you chasing Sinner and Alcaraz’ and talk to us about the Federer generation,” said Rusedski.

“No, no, no. I’m the guy with 24 Grand Slams, so let’s talk about that. I was on top for 15 years in this sport. Never, ever discount a great champion. I always say he will still have a shot.”

There has long been a perception that Djokovic has not been given a fair ride by the world’s media, with Rusedski suggesting some players will always come out second best in the PR battle.

“Some players have different rules and the press will never write a bad story about, so they are more open,” he added.

“Then other players, the media decide that this is going to be our bad guy and then all of a sudden, all the stories are negative. So sometimes we are creating characters without objectivity and that’s why you have players who get defensive.”