You're so obsessed with Federer that you're imagining stuff.
Oh, no. No, no... those were his actual words. He actually said it would be the highlight of his career. I love the rivalry between the Big 3; they're so intense. There is no love lost between these giants of the sport. It is good for the fans.
Source for the quote, please.
I remember being pissed off that he beat Xavier Malisse, who I was a big fan of. Somdev Devvarman had a good event, all in all. He was one of the most lightweight players I've ever seen, so he didn't disgrace himself against Rafael Nadal.The previous month Devvarman had made Johannesburg final (lost to Anderson 64 36 26) and got to no.66 a couple of months after IW, (carrer high no.62 a couple of months later), so, Djokovic probably thought that Somdev could've reached even higher.
75 64 vs Nadal was a good result, and it was Devvarman's 6th match therein (after two qualif. matches + three rounds) dispatching no.59 Mannarino, no.22 Baghdatis (75 60) and no.52 Malisse thereafter.
Somdev Devvarman | Player Activity | ATP Tour | Tennis
Official tennis match records of Somdev Devvarman including results, opponents, match stats. Filter by year and tournament.www.atptour.com
Like you, I did see the quotes many times on the twitter, from people claiming they heard Federer say it on the television. I could not verify what they are saying. So, in that case, I will retract the quotes. Although, not everything someone says becomes the news, so we don't know what really was said. However, Federer does have a tendency to say head-scratching things about his rivals. He also said Nadal's game is one-dimensional and the more he plays him, the better it is for him. It would not be out of the realm of possibility that he said the words about Djokovic.
That was way before Pepe Imaz, now he has changed.
I've watched the full match and ceremony again the last month because of some discussion here (regretfully video has been deleted in the meantime), and I think he has said something similar, but my impression was that he was talking about Djokovic's career till then, and he was right in that case.
Thank you for sharing. It certainly adds further credence towards the many others who claim they heard Federer say that Djokovic's victory over him in Canada will be the highlight of his career.
IMO he just used an ambiguous phrasing there, meaning that Rogers Cup title (Novak's second HC masters title in 2007, Novak was still 19 y.o. in Miami when he won his first Masters title) was a highlight of his career (probably due to the consecutive wins over no.3 Roddick, no.2 Nadal and then no.1 Federer), but in an interview before the Rogers Cup finals Federer said that he wasn’t that much impressed with the young Serbian, and then after the loss he called the match "insignificant", and it might've been so in his eyes because he then went on to win Cinci and USO'07.
I personally have not heard what Federer said; however, many people swear to it that Federer did say those exact words. You know, given what else he said before the match, it is likely that he did say that the victory would be the highlight of Djokovic's career.
Even if he had said it, he certainly didn't mean it that way, because he also said the Novak was one of the best players in the world and he deserved to win that day.
You are too credulous. Even if he did throw a compliment or two, he also mixed them with shade. Examples: "Not impressed with Djokovic" "Will be the highlight of his career". Those were totally unnecessary, demeaning, and simply rude. You know, given the animosity between these players - in addition to what many others claim they heard him say - it is probably all but certain that the words were said. These two don't like one another. When they play each other, they are more motivated than usual to win. There is no love lost between the two.
