'I was never as loved as Federer and Nadal': Novak Djokovic on being the 'third guy' of the Big Three

Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, recently spoke in an interview about his relationship with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, revealing which of the two he gets along with better. The Serb, a year younger than Nadal and five years younger than Federer, reached the top level a bit later than his Big Three counterparts.

Djokovic first broke through in 2007, after reaching the semifinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and the final at the US Open, falling to either Federer or Nadal in all of them. By the time he won his first major at the 2008 Australian Open, Nadal already had three Grand Slam titles and Federer had twelve, in addition to a total of 14 head-to-head encounters (an 8-6 record in favor of the Spaniard).

Federer and Nadal had already established a fierce rivalry for a few years, and Djokovic arrived to challenge them. After several years with Nadal and Federer alternating at No. 1 and No. 2, "Nole" climbed to second place in 2010 and reached the top of the rankings in 2011. To date, he has surpassed Federer and Nadal in practically all their records, notably weeks at No. 1 and Grand Slam titles (24 for Nole, 22 for Nadal, and 20 for Federer).

Djokovic recently discussed the Big Three rivalry, mentioning that he always felt like "the third guy," never being as loved as his great rivals. "I was never as loved as Federer and Nadal because I wasn't supposed to be there. I was the little guy, the third guy who came along and said, 'I'm going to be number one.' Many people didn't like that," he opined.

"For someone to be my biggest rival doesn't mean I wish them harm, hate them, or want to do anything else on the court to defeat them. We fight for victory, and the best player wins."

The 38-year-old player was asked who he gets along with better between his two main rivals. "I've always respected both him and Federer; I've never said a single bad word about them and never will. I looked up to them and still do," he said. "But I've always gotten along better with Nadal."