Federer and Djokovic - The Cold War?

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This relates to something discussed on the Rafa Not Backing Down thread but it's off-topic, so I'll give it its own thread.

Interesting blog about the Roger-Novak relationship:

http://tennis-column.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-relationship-between-federer-and.html

I do find the dynamic between the two players very interesting. It seems to have been noticeably warmer the last 18 months or so but there's still a frisson there, I think.

They have very different personalities. It's clear that Roger has been irked by some of Novak's (or his family's) behaviour in the past. Likewise, it's clear that Novak has never been enraptured by Roger in the way that many other of his rivals have been.

I think if Novak had hit his peak a couple of years earlier, this relationship had the potential to get really heated!

Yeah, what is it about Czech players...Berdych never smiles either - which is surprising considering the absolutely stunning GF he has

I think one of the things that made Lendl unpopular was that his wife to be was only 14 when he started living with her... credit to him he married her and had five kids.. but he wasnt the most popular person on the tennis court albeit a great player.

lydian wrote:Yeah, what is it about Czech players...Berdych never smiles either - which is surprising considering the absolutely stunning GF he has

Who no doubt loves him purely for his winning personality

"... so tell us, what was it that first attracted you to the multi-millionaire tennis player Tomas Berdych ...?"

MMT1 wrote: Federer still thinks he's a better tennis player than all his main rivals, and it sticks in his craw when he loses to them .

But the thing is it doesn't "stick in his craw" when he loses to Rafa because he acknowledges that Rafa is his equal. That's perhaps the reason for the animosity between Djokovic and Federer. When Federer loses to Djokovic he still acts like he's the superior player. "Act" is perhaps the wrong word because Federer IS the superior player.

I don't judge, I'm just reporting what I've heard/read, but as far as I can remember, there weren't too many top players that had much good to say about Ivan Lendl. As far I can recall, there was Christo van Rensburg, a South African player who excelled in doubles, and Wojtek Fibak a Polish player (another very good doubles player who made two finals with Lendl) who took him under his wing when he first came on tour, having also come from a country behind the "iron curtain".

I believe that there was very nearly a fisticuffs between him and Agassi in the locker room on one occasion.. but was that just a rumour ?? I do know that Agassi had little or no time for him

I think it was Cash and Lendl that had a locker room set-to. Although maybe Agassi as well and probably any number of other players

You're right Julius - it was Cash who had a go at Lendl in the "Shoebreaker Incident" (google it and you get a link from SportTaco that tells the story - I can't post the link because I'm a new member). Jon Feinstein's book "Hardcourts" makes reference to Lendl's hatred of Russians, but he sort of excuses it given that he is Czech, and all they had to put up with from the Russians, but this is the only time I've ever heard anyone call Lendl a straight up racist, although McEnroe did also say that he loved to berate lower ranked players. That is ironic coming from a guy (McEnroe) who (according to Bill Scanlon in his memoirs) interrupted a match with him, in the middle of a game, just to explain to Scanlon how he had no business on the court with him, that nobody wanted to see him proceed to the next round, and he should just give it up...in the middle of a match. But I digress.