Federer Tells Fan to ‘Go Away’

Anyone in particular?

Novak Djokovic for example. I’m a big fan of his game but I also found out he’s a really nice guy. I remember the first time I saw Djokovic, I was with my coach from the ITF Touring Team, and I just stood in my place, completely star-struck. And she was like ‘you have to get used to this, they are all over the place’.

I was in a queue to get food and Tomas Berdych came to get some pasta and the cook told him he had to go stand in the queue. And I couldn’t believe it, that’s Tomas Berdych and the guy won’t give him food because he’s not in the queue. I didn’t have the best experience with Roger Federer, in the players’ lounge, I asked him for a photo and he told me ‘no, sorry, go away’. I was a bit shocked. Maybe I caught him at a bad time. Djokovic however, was so nice when we took a picture and he asked me if I was playing and he wished me luck.

Hi, folks. I hope everyone has by now recovered from grand slam withdrawal and gotten back to their normal sleeping routines.

I don’t have any tour news for you yet because the current events don’t quite fall under ‘cutting edge men’s tennis’ but I have something else more interesting for you.

And let me just make it clear from the outset that this post is not made with the chief aim of criticizing Federer. I’d like to think I am now above that kind of tennis fan pettiness.

I make this post to emphasize a difference between Federer and Djokovic which could be detrimental in their ultimate destinies in the sport.

There is a huge difference between telling a young admirer to ‘go away’ and taking a picture with him while wishing him good luck. It’s perhaps a small thing for the player but for the fan it is a huge thing.

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And it tells you a fair amount about the characters of Federer and Djokovic. It’s easy to be classy and nice when you are winning and the top dog. The true test is when things are not going your way.

And we all know that for Federer things have no exactly gone his way of late. He is not the chased one anymore. That honor now belongs to Djokovic. This is not the first time we have seen this kind of thing from Federer in recent times.

In the semi-final against Djokovic in Melbourne, he told a cameraman who was filming him during a changeover to ‘Get out of my face, please‘. There is a certain arrogance/aggression to what he says.

Now, I understand that he doesn’t like losing and that he is used to being the top dog, but as a public figure who is very famous I don’t think that sets a good example.

It comes back to that whole Federer cult thing where Federer is lifted up to a divine status which means he can do anything without having to be held accountable. My hope is to expose the establishment and give Djokovic his due credit.

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I don’t like this idea that Federer is the candidate of the establishment and that he is therefore beyond reproach. That’s a lot like Hillary Clinton who is the candidate of the democratic establishment despite taking vast amounts of money from corrupt Wall Street in campaign donations.

That kind of blind fanaticism is very dangerous and destructive in my view and it is something I am working to expose and eradicate.

To get back to the tennis, Djokovic is viewed as the outsider because of where he comes from and for what he is doing to the establishment. And because of coming from a tough background where everything wasn’t handed on a platter to him, he is very appreciative and down to earth.

He takes nothing for granted in tennis or as a person. This bodes well for him in his quest to become the greatest of all time. He is always looking to grow and improve which means there is no danger of becoming complacent like Federer did.

Is Federer as classy and nice as the establishment wants us to believe?

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Ps. I started writing my book yesterday ?

The is in your court.

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8 Comments

IWC2016

Hi Ru-an,
No offence, what is your point?
Obviously Federer is not just a sports Star but a celebrity too. It was well reported Federer mingled with the who’s who in the celebrity cycles and they come and see his matches in likes of Wimbledon, USO etc.

Morever, he is a Swiss that comes from a country blessed with the milk & honey. People associate Federer more to a fine wine or luxury watch; and this is how the media play with his character whereas Djokovic more a villain that is tough and up there to steal the show from Federer.

Obviously he is not as nice as people perceive him to be as a real person when you reach the celebrity status.

people around th world still adore him because he is truly exceptional with his all court skills and there is something magical about his playing style that even attracts the casual fans to watch him. Moreover, he is in his twilight in terms of tennis career hence fans appreciate more of him even so, and rooting for him to win at least one more slam.

Djokovic has his fans base too so I don’t think he is unloved by what the media widely reported him to be. However, I read a U.S. Report Djokovic does not get a high TV rating when he is playing anyone other than Federer in the U.S. Open so he still has work to do. So long as Federer is still playing and still making deep to tournaments, Djokovic is always going to be at the sideline when it comes to the popularity contest. However, I think it helps him because he has less pressure to measure up whereas Federer because of his celebrity status the pressure has got to him. How many times we watch when Federer is playing against anyone he is ten times more confident than playing a Nadal or Djokovic and that shows in his face. It almost like he knew he can’t win unless he is prepared to slog all day at the court and sweating it all. Though he doesn’t show it but experienced players can tell he is struggling physically just as much as his opponent. Whereas Djokovic is more a ‘in your face’ type of player not afraid to show his personality and fist pumping which unfortunately didn’t go well with fans. Whereas Federer is always perceived as classy, cool and elegant. What do you think?

Ru-an Reply:
February 6th, 2016 at 11:31 pm

I think you made another good comment, IWC. I like your objectivity as a Fedfan and don’t take any offense from your comments. It is like you say. Being famous gets to everyone, and changes everyone. I hope you didn’t take offense to my post.

It really wasn’t about criticizing Federer. I am fully aware of what he has meant to tennis and I certainly don’t think he is a bad person.

I was simply drawing a comparison between the two players and stating why I thought Djokovic might well surpass Federer. I hope people can look past their personal bias and take the post for what it is rather than thinking I am out to get Federer.

The focus is here on Djokovic and why I think he has the right character for becoming the GOAT. Federer is just there for comparison.

universal123 Reply:
February 7th, 2016 at 2:50 am

I really do understand why tennis players sometimes say something they don’t mean sometimes. To put it another way, imagine doing a normal job, or in education, and you get fired or fail an exam, and you’re in a really bad mood. Imagine then having to speak to a team of reporters monitoring every word you say so they can spin it and take it out of context. Probably caught Federer at a bad time, and I understand the point of your post. The thing about Djokovic is that whether he deserves it or not, the vast majority of the media will never accept him as GOAT, because he’s not from a “conventional” country: namely the North American countries or the Western European countries. Sadly, there is still a lot of racism in the West. In the last year the UK agreed to accept just 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years when far smaller and poorer countries have accepted millions. There was even a recent poll and most of the British public said the UK should accept even less. It just disgusts me the more I read about it. It’s why Agassi v Sampras and Nadal v Federer were considered big rivalries more than Federer v Djokovic which is of about equal quality, perhaps even better. Agassi and Sampras are both American, Nadal and Federer are both from Western Europe, whereas Djokovic is from Eastern Europe and so will never be regarded the same. Sometimes I wonder whether the West really has the right to claim a moral high ground over anyone.

Ru-an Reply:
February 7th, 2016 at 3:08 am

I also understand that you are sometimes just in a bad mood and don’t feel like talking to people. I just found Federer a lot more disagreeable and grumpy of late. He’s not the player I knew. He is on the edge and seems bitter. It’s like he can’t accept that Djokovic is better now.

Like he has the right to better and Djokovic has no business spoiling it for him. He changed or something. When I look at the 2011 AO SF between him and Djoker, for instance, I see him accepting the loss with much more grace, whereas Djokovic is the bratty and insecure one.

Now the roles are reversed. Djokovic seems to have grown into his skin while Federer seems like the immature and awkward one.

About the media not accepting Djokovic as the GOAT I don’t know about that. If he has the numbers on his side the experts will proclaim him as the GOAT and the rest will follow.

universal123 Reply:
February 8th, 2016 at 8:12 pm

Yeah it’s not great publicity for someone who is arguably still GOAT for now (not gonna say anything more than that as I don’t want to start that debate again) and whether he is or not he is still one of the all time great players, so it’s not great. However, I do have some sympathy. Picture it from Federer’s position as well. For about seven straight years he was in the top two players in the world, winning major title after major title. When someone else came up and took his place at the top (first Nadal, then Djokovic) that was always going to be difficult. To be a fair comparison I think we would have to wait and see how Djokovic reacts when the next up-and-coming player starts beating him consistently. Not suggesting at all he would react the same as Federer, just saying we don’t really know. But it’s an interesting point you have raised nonetheless, and I never bought this idea of Federer (or any other player for that matter) being perfect and incapable of doing anything wrong. The fact is these people are great tennis players with really good media training and years of experience of dealing with people when they have had a bad day, and they still get it wrong sometimes.

TL;DR: I basically agree with you, it took me a massive long paragraph just to say that lol.

Ru-an Reply:
February 8th, 2016 at 8:28 pm

Djokovic will never become complacent, though. He doesn’t have that streak of arrogance in him. And besides, he is already portrayed as the bad guy so if he acts badly that would only be according to his nature as far as the media is concerned. He doesn’t have this fake image to uphold so in that sense he is unburdened.

The establishment doesn’t realize it but all their worship of Federer is what made him complacent and brought him down. And portraying Djokovic as the villain is achieving the opposite. It is making Djokovic more motivated to prove them wrong and takes pressure off him.

He will always be portrayed as the outsider so no danger of taking himself too seriously. It must be immensely frustrating for Federer that he stuck around long enough for Nadal to decline only for Djokovic to spoil it for him.

universal123 Reply:
February 8th, 2016 at 10:16 pm

You never know, he might somehow outlast Djokovic as well, given the up and coming players at the moment he could wait until he is 40 and then start winning slams again lol. I’m actually only half joking, it’s a combination of the old guard still being good players and that the young players are just nowhere in comparison.

Ru-an Reply:
February 8th, 2016 at 10:36 pm

Yeah, that’s a little unrealistic, to say the least. Especially after Federer just had surgery. It is more likely that Djokovic will be dominating at 40 the Federer with his thin frame, meditation(slows down aging in case you didn’t know), and elasticity.

I don’t know how many more big losses Federer can stand mentally and physically against Djokovic. He can just keep being in denial about it telling himself he is finding a solution but as you see the problem can manifest in a physical way. In one way or the other, it is going to take its toll.

I am amazed that Federer up until this point just kept coming back for more beatings without showing signs of backing off. So I’m not surprised about this injury.