Novak Djokovic lauds Roger Federer in special moment as he uses interview to say 'tennis misses him' at Australian Open
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Updated 25/01/2023 at 13:41 GMT
It was an unexpected and extremely popular scene as Novak Djokovic stopped to pay tribute to his former rival, Roger Federer, after his quarter-final victory over Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open on Wednesday. Speaking with Jim Courier in his post-match interview on Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic halted an answer to pay a special mention to the Swiss legend, who retired last year.
'He deserves it!' - Touching moment Djokovic asks fans to applaud Federer
In a special moment, Novak Djokovic lauded fellow tennis legend Roger Federer as he used his post-match interview to say that "tennis misses him" after his quarter-final win at the Australian Open.
Djokovic stormed into the semi-finals at Melbourne Park with what was an utterly dominant and convincing straight-sets win over fifth seed Andrey Rublev as he took his quest for a 10th Melbourne title to the next stage in style.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner was in imperious form as he cruised to a commanding 6-1 6-2 6-4 win in just two hours and three minutes as he notched a remarkable 26th successive match win at the event he has made his own.
Djokovic blasted down an impressive 14 aces and 32 winners to seal his place in the last four, and he was all smiles as he then spoke to Jim Courier in his post-match interview on the court on Rod Laver Arena.
Unexpectedly, the 35-year-old halted one answer in the interview to pay a special tribute to Federer, his former rival and fellow tennis icon, in what is the first Grand Slam since the Swiss star retired at the Laver Cup in London late last year.
Asked by Courier if he could remember his first semi-final at a major, having reached his 10th at Melbourne Park, he recalled facing Federer.
"I think it was [the] US Open back in 2007," Djokovic said.
"It seems quite a long time ago, actually, now. I was fortunate to win that semi-final, but in the final, I lost to Roger [Federer]."
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At that moment, the crowd erupted in applause, and Djokovic joined in with some clapping of his own before deciding to stop that answer and instead pay tribute to his former rival.
"Let us give him a big round of applause, to Roger, guys," Djokovic said.
"He deserves it! I had some great battles over the years with Roger, that is for sure. Tennis misses him, for sure.
"I have seen him dressing up very sharply for [Paris] Fashion Week the other day!
"I have seen him skiing. I want to challenge him for a little skiing race in a few years’ time. But, yeah, he is enjoying life, for sure, it is nice to see that.
"Obviously for tennis, he has been one of the most important players ever to play the game. So, big regards to his family.”
American world No. 35, Tommy Paul, who defeated Ben Shelton in four sets earlier on Wednesday, will face Djokovic for a place in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas or Karen Khachanov.
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