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SportsMoney Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal Absent From Roger Federer’s Hall Of Fame Induction By Adam Zagoria ,
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Neither Novak Djokovic nor Rafael Nadal attended Roger Federer ’s official induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday in Newport, R.I.
Djokovic, 39, is playing his first-round match at the U.S. Open Sunday night on Arthur Ashe Stadium while Nadal, Federer’s greatest rival, was also not there. Stan Wawrinka, Federer’s Swiss countryman and longtime Davis Cup teammate, was also absent from the ceremony ahead of his first-round match at the U.S. Open on Monday.
Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, "The Big 3” of men’s tennis, along with Andy Murray as part of “The Big 4,” dominated the sport for two decades, with Djokovic (24 and counting), Nadal (22) and Federer (20) each winning 20+ Slams. Murray was also not in attendance.
Djokovic sent a message congratulating Federer on his inevitable induction.
“Roger, congratulations for your [induction] to the Hall of Fame,” Djokovic , who led Federer 27-23 in their head-to-head, said in a tribute video. “We all knew this day was going to come sooner or later, and I don’t think anybody deserves this more than you.”
Federer spent 310 weeks atop the ATP Rankings and won Wimbledon a record eight times during his career.
“What you have achieved, what you represented and still represent for the sport of tennis and sport in general is something truly incredible and remarkable,” the Serbian said. “Thank you for being such a great ambassador for our sport. Hopefully you will have an amazing day with your family, celebrating your amazing career.”
Some of Federer’s contemporaries did attend the ceremony, including Andy Roddick, who lost four major finals to the Swiss star, Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt.
Per tennis historian Steve Flink, it is common for rivals not to show up when their foes are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“If you look at other ceremonies, rarely do rivals show up,” Flink said. “Rafa and Novak coming [for Federer] is unrealistic. [Andre] Agassi and [Pete] Sampras did not attend each other’s ceremonies. Chrissie [Evert] and Martina [Navratilova] did, not either.”
Meantime, two other players whose respective careers crossed over with much of Federer’s also sent congratulatory messages, 39-year-old Gael Monfils and 35-year-old Grigor Dimitrov.
Monfils, who will himself retire this year, faded Federer 14 times between 2006-19, with Federer owning a 10-4 head-to-head.
“You’ve been such a big legend and definitely inspired so many people, myself as well,” Monfils said . “Just enjoy and I’ll see you very soon on the golf course.”
Dimitrov, who was nicknamed “Baby Fed” early in his career and went 1-7 vs. Federer, added: “To me, you’ve always been a Hall of Famer, I think since day one when I saw you play. An amazing example, on and off the court, and truly an inspiration of mine.
“I feel we’ve had so many nice memories, on and off the court, and it goes back to when we played an exhibition at Madison Square Garden and flew together to Indian Wells. I remember reading for your little girls when they were young, so I’ve always felt very embraced from you and your whole family.”
Federer spent a record 237 consecutive weeks as World No. 1 from 2004-08, but won his final major at the 2018 Australian Open when a new generation was coming up. He also reached the 2019 Wimbledon final, famously losing to Djokovic after holding double-match point.
“I was personally very lucky to be invited when I was 17 to practice with you and we had a great time,” said Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 3 seed at the Open. “I learned a lot and over the years you’ve always been very good with sharing with the younger generation, so I want to thank you for that personally. Thank you for everything you did for our sport, thank you for growing it, and thank you for all the highlights and hot shots that you produced over the years.”
French Open champ and top seed at the Open Alexander Zverev added: “Roger, what a surprise you’ve made it to the Hall of Fame!... You were the player I was always looking up to when I was growing up and favourite player to watch. To then of course competing against each other, it was always fun to be on court with you and spending time outside the court with you as well. I’m very happy for you and congratulations again for being in the Hall of Fame.”
Daniil Medvedev , who went 0-3 against Federer in his career, jokingly recalled one time he was happy not to have played the Swiss.
“Congrats on being inducted to the Hall of Fame,” Medvedev said, speaking at the Cincinnati Open . “I think no surprise to anyone! Since I’m in Cincinnati doing this message, thanks a lot for losing to Andrey Rublev here once and giving me the chance to win my first Masters 1000 title. Thank you very much, I appreciate it!”
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