Novak Djokovic more responsible than Roger Federer: French star Gilles Simon

Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic has been facing the wrath of fans and media personnel alike for organising the Adria Tour in Serbia amidst the coronavirus global pandemic. The exhibition tournament, played without safety protocols in June, resulted in several tennis players contracting the virus including Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric, Viktor Troicki and Novak Djokovic himself along with his wife Jelena. After being subjected to much criticism, the World No.1 ranked player finally broke his silence and lashed out at his critics for launching a ‘witch hunt’ campaign against him.

Also Read | Novak Djokovic Slams Critics And Media, Calls Himself 'target Of A Witch Hunt': Report

Novak Djokovic coronavirus: Serbian legends finds an ally in Gilles Simon

French star Gilles Simon recently interacted with L'Equipe through an interview. In the interview, he defended Novak Djokovic and slammed his critics for creating an “unlovable image” for the 33-year old. Simon said that like every other person, Djokovic is also a human being who has his own virtues and flaws. He then dragged Roger Federer’s name in the interaction by saying that the media only talks about the virtues of the Swiss legend and the flaws of the Serbian star in comparison.

Roger Federer is currently the most successful men’s singles player in Slam history with 20 titles. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is third on the list with 17 titles. Speaking about the success of Djokovic, Gilles Simon believed that the 17-time Grand Slam winner is unfairly treated by the media because they do not want to him to surpass Roger Federer’s record. He claimed that “it pisses people off” to know that “Novak Djokovic is so strong”.

Also Read | Roger Federer Admits Getting Closer To Retirement With No Tennis In 2020: Report

Simon also said that Novak Djokovic is actually working in the interest of other players as the President of the ATP Player Council. According to him, the backlash he received for the Adria Tour fiasco was the media’s attempt to reduce all the good work Djokovic has ever done.

Novak Djokovic coronavirus recovery

As per Novak Djokovic’s media team on July 2, the player and his wife have been tested negative for coronavirus. Their announcement came 10 days after it came to light they had contracted the disease at the Djokovic Serbia event.

Also Read | Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal All Set To Prefer French Open Over US Open This Year: Report

Roger Federer injury and probable retirement

In other news, Roger Federer announced on June 10 that he will be missing out on the remainder of the 2020 season due to his knee injury. The Federer injury news aside, the Swiss legend also recently spoke about contemplating to retire from the sport.

Roger Federer injury updates from June 10

Federer vs Djokovic rivalry

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have contested each other 50 times with the World No.1 leading their matchups 27–23 in all competitors. The Serbian ace remains the only player to have defeated the former World No.3 Federer in all four majors, a record that the Swiss ace also holds against Djokovic. The head-to-head record favours Djokovic as he leads 13–6 in all finals and 11–6 in Grand Slam matches. Federer was the enforcer in the early part of the rivalry holdings with a 13-6 advantage till 2011, before Djokovic tied it at 22-22 in 2015, before bettering the 20-time Grand Slam champion.

However, in their previous encounter at the 2019 ATP Finals, Roger Federer surprisingly beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 with the latter hardly putting up a fight in their London clash. That resulted in Djokovic crashing out of the first round itself. Djokovic got his revenge though by winning the Australian Open 2020 semi-final against the World No.4, enroute to winning the title.

Watch Federer vs Djokovic all match points

Also Read | Novak Djokovic Wins Support After Swiss Comedian Mocks Him Over Coronavirus Controversy

Image credit: AP