Roger Federer has asked the public not to burden Borna Coric with a Novak Djokovic comparison, the Swiss said after his 6-2, 6-1 drubbing of the teenage Croatian in the Dubai semi-finals.
Djokovic had said earlier in the week that he sees himself in the young Coric.
“I've never felt that way when I practice with somebody as I felt with him. It's like playing myself. Very similar game,” explained the world No1.
While Federer noticed some similarities between Djokovic and Coric’s games, the Swiss is hoping the 18-year-old doesn’t get branded “the next Novak”
“It's far‑fetched, to be quite honest. I hope he's not going to be the next Novak. Don't do that to him,” said Federer after defeating Coric.
“I believe he does actually play quite different (to Novak), especially in terms of technique. It's quite different. Serve is totally different.
“But I do see what he (Novak) means. He's a bigger guy, probably same size and moves well off the baseline, especially towards the backhand side, does a very good job, Borna.”
Coric, who only made the main draw as a lucky loser, may have been humbled by Federer in last four but he certainly stole the show in Dubai this week, becoming the youngest semi-finalist in the tournament’s history and earning a shock win over Andy Murray in the quarter-finals.
His ranking is expected to rise to around 61-62 next week.
He said resetting his mindset after pulling off the upset over Murray was not easy.
“I was feeling yesterday like I won the grand slam, and then today I needed to go out again after 24 hours and play against a guy who is ‑ we all know who he (Federer) is,” Coric said of his semi-final.
“It's not easy, for sure. I was struggling a bit with that, but I just need to get used to it.
“This is almost a dream come true. I was watching him (Federer) since I was I think maybe six or seven. I was watching him play Wimbledon, playing all the slams. I was saying ‘I wish I could play with him one day, you know’. And today I was playing against him,” added Coric, who is now 2-3 against top-10 opposition.
“I knew that it's going to be very tough. But when you come on the court and when you actually feel the ball and feel the pressure which he's making, it's actually been tougher than when you're watching it on the sofa in front of the TV.”
