While Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer grew to call each other friends, Novak Djokovic always dismissed that label.
Novak Djokovic has always been quite loyal to himself. He's never tried to really pretend to be something he's not and always spoke his mind freely. That earned him plenty of fans but also plenty of detractors who likely will never come around when it comes to him.
While Nadal and Federer have come to call each other friends, Djokovic has always dismissed that label. He doesn't believe that you can be friends with your fierce rivals.
Even so, the Serbian paid tribute to them more than once, crediting them for making him the player that he ultimately became.
He reiterated his stance once more in a recent interview with Marca, recognizing them as an important part of his life but dismissing being friends.
It's true that we can't be friends because with friends you talk about everything, the good, the bad, your secrets. With your rivals I don't think you feel very comfortable revealing all that. In the last 15 years I have seen more of Nadal and Federer than my parents.
That means they have been a very important part of my life and my career. I have incredible respect for them and for the rivalry we've had for so long. It's been a long journey together and when we hang up our racquets we'll look at it in a more relaxed way.
We'll see what happens when Djokovic retires or when Nadal reiters. Perhaps the lack of weekly competition will mellow the Serbian towards embracing a friendship with Nadal and Federer.
Maybe it's a disconnect in personalities? Who knows, but it's not really important. They pushed each other to new heights and delivered us the greatest era of tennis to date.
It's likely to finish as the greatest ever but time will tell.
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