For the first time in his illustrious career, 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic probably laid bare his emotions as he opened up about not being as loved as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. For the majority of his career, the Serbian has been involved in an intense rivalry with the two. The trio formed the ‘Big Three’ of tennis as they dominated Grand Slam after Grand Slam without letting anyone else enter the radar.

Despite winning 24 Grand Slams and having a positive head-to-head record against both Federer and Nadal, the 38-year-old has had to battle hostile crowds. The Serbian has now admitted to not being admired as much as his two great rivals.

Djokovic (24) has more Grand Slams than both Nadal (22) and Federer (20). However, he continues to battle a lack of support at the four big events – Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

“I felt like the unwanted child in the trio. I often questioned why that was the case, and it was painful. I thought changing my demeanour might win them over, but that proved ineffective too,” said Djokovic in a Failures of Champions interview with Slaven Bilic.

“The two of them had already developed a rivalry before I came along because Nadal broke through a few years before me. They come from Switzerland, from Spain, so Western powers… There are these orientations, and there are affiliations,” he added.

‘Wasn’t supposed to disrupt their narrative’

Djokovic further stated that he wasn’t welcomed positively because Federer and Nadal hail from Switzerland and Spain, and the duo appealed more to the Western world than to him.

“I never achieved the same level of adoration as Federer and Nadal because, in a way, I wasn’t supposed to disrupt their narrative. I was the third man who boldly declared, ‘I’m going to be number one.’ Not everyone welcomed that,” said the World No.5 Djokovic, who recently faced a defeat against Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the French Open.

Djokovic also opened on the camaradrie he shares with Federer and Nadal, revealing that the rivalry has swayed between frosty and friendly over the years.

“Just because someone is my biggest rival doesn’t mean I wish them harm, hate them, or want to do anything else on the court to defeat them. We fought for the win, and the better player won,” Djokovic said.

“I’ve always respected both Federer and Nadal; I’ve never said a single bad word about them and never will. I looked up to them and still do. But I’ve always gotten along better with Nadal,” he added.