They may be locking horns for a 45th time but a showdown between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will never be considered a normal match, according to the latter’s coach Boris Becker.
It’s the second-most contested rivalry in the Open Era with only Rafael Nadal’s 47 matches against Djokovic played out more times.
Should Djokovic defeat Federer in their Australian Open semi-final Thursday, he would inch ahead 23-22 and lead their head-to-head for the first time in his career.
He achieved that feat against Nadal earlier this month when he beat him in the Doha final to take a 24-23 lead over the Spaniard in career meetings.
“I was behind most of the head-to-heads against most players throughout my career. It does feel good, I must say, to level the head-to-head,” Djokovic said in Melbourne.
“I did go through my moments, periods of my career, where I was doubting myself, not knowing really if I can manage to get to No1 and achieve the childhood dream, break the dominance of these two guys (Federer and Nadal). Of course, I’ve been through those moments.
“But those moments made me tougher. Under those circumstances and challenges when I was down, I had an opportunity to grow and to get better.”
Djokovic is on a 19-match grand slam winning streak and has won 15 of his last 16 matches against top-10 opposition. That one defeat came to Federer in the round robin stage at the ATP World Tour Finals last November. But the Serb immediately retaliated and beat Federer in the final a few days later.
The world No1 leads Federer 8-6 in grand slam encounters and won both major finals they contested last season.
Considering he has had the upper hand in best-of-five matches against Federer recently, many predict yet another Djokovic victory today. But the Serb’s coach, Becker, who won the Australian Open for the first time 25 years ago, says nothing is guaranteed in a match against Federer.
“There is nothing typical when it comes to the two of them. They have played each other over 40 times. Such a rivalry, like Novak, Roger and also Rafael Nadal have something that is unique in the world of tennis. No generation before had that,” Becker said Wednesday.
“These are two extraordinary players, that is the match that all tennis fans all over the world want to see. Last year, they had two grand slam finals, now it’s a semi-final. But that doesn’t matter. It’s THE tennis match, and it’s the ultimate challenge for both of them.”
The German legend believes the contrast in their games is what adds spice to the rivalry.
“Their characters and styles couldn’t be more opposite. That’s what makes the whole thing so exciting. It’s a bit like (Bjorn) Borg and (John) McEnroe back in the day. Or me playing (Andre) Agassi. The best baseliner against the best offensive player. Every point can be crucial,” explained Becker, a six-time major champion.