Novak Djokovic thinks Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal “distanced” themselves from him early because they didn’t like his massive confidence but the 37-year-old had no issues with that because that’s how rivalries work.

When the Serb came on the scene, the Swiss and the Spaniard were dominating the Grand Slam level and sharing the biggest titles between them.

However, Djokovic was bold enough to publicly state that he had what it took to challenge the two and become one of the greatest ever.

And while nothing was ever publicly confirmed, there were rumors that Federer didn’t like him very much.

Djokovic: I didn’t have the acceptance early on from Federer and Nadal

“But I didn’t have the acceptance early on, ’cause I did go out on the court saying and showing that I’m confident that I want to win. And I don’t think that both of them maybe liked that in the early days,” the 37-year-old told GQ.

“Particularly because most of the players were going out to play them, not to win. And because of that confident stance, they probably were even more distanced from me. And that’s fine. I accepted it as it is. I understood the messaging that I got, which was we are rivals and nothing else.”

In the same interview, Djokovic also noted that it is “very difficult to be friends on the Tour” with your biggest rivals.

Now, the Serb is a record 24-time Grand Slam champion while Nadal finished with 22 and Federer had 20.

Although the current world No. 7 had much more Slam success in the latter years of their rivalry, he was accepted much more by Fedal.

When the Swiss decided to retire, he invited Djokovic to be a part of the Team Europe lineup.

When it comes to Nadal, he also spoke very highly of the Serb numerous times over the last couple of years and even publicly stated that the 37-year-old is the best ever – at least in terms of achievements.