Former tennis legend Boris Becker has recently spoken on a controversial matter. He is not happy with how his former student Novak Djokovic is always portrayed as the ‘bad guy’ in tennis whereas Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are termed as ‘good guys’. He highlighted how Federer or Nadal is never scrutinised as much as the Serb which he thinks is unfair on Djokovic’s part.
The World No. 1 has had his fair share of controversies but many people believe that players with similar actions tend to get away with a lot less than the Serb.
Recently in the US Open finals, there were moments in which Djokovic got frustrated and flung his racquet. A similar thing was done by Daniil Medvedev as well but the fans all over social media have only criticised Djokovic.
However, Becker, who has known him very closely, knows that Djokovic is a nice person. Hence he feels that the tennis community should judge Djokovic in the same stead as Federer or Nadal since his achievements are no less legendary than the other two.
“I know Novak privately and professionally, and I can only say that he is a fine guy,” Becker said while speaking on Eurosport. “A competitor who sometimes misbehaves on the court, but who doesn’t? The public, including the media, really have to get used to the fact that there are not just two, but three [legends], who have great qualities as players and as individuals.”
The German clearly opened up on how people should not consider Djokovic as some villain while handing Federer and Nadal legendary status.
“It is not acceptable that Novak is always the bad guy and Roger and Rafa are always the good guys – that is unfair,” Becker added.
Becker highlights how Djokovic always stands up for his colleagues and supports them to no end. The six time Grand Slam winner feels that people choose not to see the good and sympathetic side of Djokovic. But he hopes that things change soon for the Serb.
“He (Novak Djokovic) publicly stood up for [Stefanos] Tsitsipas [in the toilet break row] after the semifinal against [Alexander] Zverev; he often stands up for other players,” Becker said. “That’s often swept under the rug and no one wants to perceive that in any way. There’s another side to him, and it’s very sympathetic. I hope for him and for his family that he’s finally treated a little more fairly than he has been until now.”
