Roger Federer has revealed the one ability he has over fellow tennis legends and former rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
The ‘Big Three’ dominated the sport for two decades, winning a combined total of 66 Grand Slam singles titles and regularly battling to be world No.1.
Federer dominated on grass, Nadal excelled on clay with Djokovic widely considered the be the greatest all-round player of the three superstars.
Swiss icon Federer, who won more Wimbledon titles than Djokovic and Nadal, hung up his racket following the 2022 Laver Cup in London.
Nadal joined Federer in retirement around 12 months ago, leaving Djokovic as the last active ‘Big Three’ player on the ATP Tour.
Djokovic has expressed his desire to reunite with Federer and Nadal on numerous occasions but Federer doesn’t think it will happen just yet.
That’s because Federer has claimed he has the ability to see the ‘bigger picture’ in regards to their respective rivalries – a trait which does not yet apply to either Djokovic or Nadal – because the Serbian is still playing and the Spaniard hasn’t been in retirement long enough to reflect properly.
‘Rivalries like that create a huge bond,’ Federer told Tages Anzeiger. ‘I see it very differently today than before, with much more distance.
‘Novak doesn’t know what that’s like yet. Rafa is slowly getting there. When you’re still playing, you can’t think about it the way I do today.
‘The more time passes, the less you identify yourself as an individual player and the more you see the big picture.
‘What’s funny is, someone might have taken something totally personally and you can’t even remember it anymore.
‘I’m definitely up for sitting down together and talking about the good old days.’
Speaking at Wimbledon earlier this year, Djokovic said: ‘I don’t reflect fully on everything I have been through.
‘I would like to, but I think that’s going to come probably when I set the racket aside and I sip a margarita on the beach with Federer and Nadal and just reflect on our rivalry and everything.’
In an interview with GQ ahead of the 2025 season, Djokovic added: ‘I do wish to have a drink or two with them and just open up and talk about the things that annoyed everyone about me.
‘Or vice versa, whatever it is. Let’s just put it all out there.’
The Serbian and Nadal faced each other 60 times, including in all four major finals, with Djokovic leading 31-29 overall in their head-to-head.
Djokovic locked horns with Federer 50 times, with the former leading the head-to-head record 27-23, including 13-6 in finals.