When it comes to two holy monsters like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, it’s hard not to mention record after record and tons of incredible stats. Fifteen years after their first encounter on the circuit (2006), the Swiss and Serbian champions continue to break records: the last, recorded at the Wimbledon tournament in 2021, is truly impressive.

Thanks to Federer’s recent success over Cameron Norrie in four sets and thanks to Djokovic’s victory over American Denis Kudla, we can officially say that – in the last 68 Grand Slam tournaments (since Wimbledon 2004!) – that between Roger and Novak has always managed to meet up in the second week of every major event.

As for the Wimbledon meeting, in reality, this figure can be backdated to 2003 (last year it was not played due to the health emergency linked to the Covid-19 pandemic). Speaking of Serbian, with the exception of the 2017 US Open where he wasn’t present, the last time he couldn’t reach at least the knockout stages of a Grand Slam was at the Australian Open the same year, when he was surprised by Denis.

Istomin with the score of 7-6 5-7 2-6 7-6 6-4. Coming to Federer, the Swiss did not fail to access the second week of the Australian Open 2015, when our Andreas Seppi ousted him from the tournament in four sets (by counting the recent forfeits of Roger are not obviously not taken into account due to the knee injury).

If Djokovic reached Wimbledon victory in 2021, he would reach 20 Majors in total and that would finally allow him to hang Nadal and Federer. The tennis calendar will then continue with the Tokyo Olympics, where Jannik Sinner will be absent (quickly replaced by Tuscan Lorenzo Musetti).

On the women’s side, Romania’s Simona Halep has given up on the London Slam to better recover from the serious injury she suffered in Rome a few weeks ago.

Federer paid a rich compliment to Novak Djokovic

Speaking to reporters after reaching the All England fourth round with a four-set victory over England’s Cameron Norrie, Roger Federer paid a rich compliment to his Serbian rival, saying he had worked incredibly hard for his physical form and that he “played very well”. .

However, when asked if Novak Djokovic was playing so well and getting closer to his Grand Slam title career was the main reason he was returning to action, the Swiss said his only motivation was to make his move. “own thing”.

“No, I don’t think I’m playing because he’s doing well or doing great things like Rafa (Nadal). I think I’m doing my own thing and I had issues with my knee. That was the goal, ”said Federer.

Federer has also acknowledged that his former rival is in sight of another All England title and that he may move on to more important things. “Very, very impressive to see what he’s doing again this year. It will be another big blow for him in the coming days.

There is always danger in the draw wherever you look, but at the same time he’s capable of winning matches in different ways and he’s done incredibly well in Australia and Paris, that was of course exceptional. Said the 39-year-old. mentionned.