Roger Federer says Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic ‘mindset’ different from his

Roger Federer says that it is phenomenal that three players – the other two being Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are tied on 20 Grand Slam titles each, but feels the mindsets of his two biggest rivals are different from his at the moment.

Nadal equalled Federer’s record of 20 major titles at the French Open in 2020, but was unable to add to his tally in 2021. This season, however, belonged to Djokovic, who won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon to join his great rivals.

The Serb was tipped to complete a calendar Grand Slam but lost to Daniil Medvedev at the US Open. It robbed him of the chance to take a lead in the major race, while also becoming the first in the Open Era to achieve the feat of winning all four majors in the same year.

“I mean, it’s amazing, to be honest, that all three of us are at 20 Grand Slams. Wow. When I was coming up the record was 12 and “Pistol” got to it, you know, and went up to 14. Then I passed him in 2009, making it 15,” Federer told GQ.

Federer ended his 2021 campaign early after suffering a recurrence of the knee injury that has plagued him from 2020. He underwent a third surgery earlier this year and is hoping to return to the court at the start of the 2022 season.

The Swiss ace believes the Big Three will start the season with different mindsets, with all three looking to be the first to reach 21 Grand Slam titles. While Nadal and Djokovic have competed through 2020 and 2021, Federer played under 15 matches before ending his campaign.

“But I think the others are in a different mindset to me at the moment. I think all of us would obviously like to win more and do more, because that’s what you need to be like at this level,” Federer added.