Novak Djokovic is a victim of his fate as he marches towards the finish line as ‘the gooseberry’ in the golden generation of tennis.
The gooseberry verdict came from the former Irish #1 Conor Niland who faced Djokovic at the 2011 US Open and had also beaten Federer in his junior career.
Niland has recently published his new book “The Racket” and following its release the Irishman sat with Tennis365 for an exclusive interview to discuss a variety of topics which also included is thoughts on the battle of the Big 3 and explained why Djokovic has never been able to expand his fan base.
“Djokovic is the gooseberry in the Federer vs Nadal rivalry,” said Niland, who reached a career-high of No 129 in the ATP Rankings back in 2010 and played Djokovic on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open.
“It’s almost like Federer and Nadal are a couple of Novak came along to try and break them up. That’s how some tennis fans seem to see it.
“The fact that Djokovic came through a couple of years after them allowed him to raise his game to the level they were at and then he managed to sneak past them.
“He is not loved, but I think history will be kind to him. When he finishes, people might reflect on how special special Djokovic was, let’s see.
“Maybe Djokovic will surprise us and come back as a commentator or a pundit when he is finished and everyone will get a different view of him.
“He is wobbling a little bit now and hopefully knee surgery will go okay for him, but it looks like he is finally getting to the end of the road.”
Niland admits Nadal was the player he admired more than any other in the Big Three trio, as he suggested his presence in some of the biggest matches of tennis couldn’t be ignored.
“Nadal was always the guy I found most fascinating,” said Niland, who is Ireland’s Davis Cup captain.
“He was involved in a lot of the greatest matches, the 2008 Federer final and the 2018 Australian Open final against Federer.
“I just found him to be the most charismatic, I suppose. Obviously, Federer is charismatic himself, but in a different type of way. So I always found Nadal to be the most compelling of the three.”
Many in tennis are concerned about the future after the retirement of Nadal and Djokovic but Niland thinks there is no need to worry as the batton has been passed and the sport is already in good hands with the emergence of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and the arrival of two shining stars in WTA.
“Alcaraz is phenomenal and his rivalry with Sinner has got real potential to cross over to non-tennis fans. In fact, that has probably already happened,” added Niland.
“Coco Gauff also has that element of mass appeal, but Iga Swiatek just seems to be head and shoulders above everybody at Roland Garros.”
Niland’s new book captures its readers’ interest and take them behind the scenes on the tennis circuit like never before, as he reveals the challenges of competing to get onto the biggest stages and the struggles the stars face to reach these stages.