Tennis icons Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal subject of huge backlash after Novak Djokovic US Open win
Novak Djokovic won a record 24th Grand Slam title at the US Open on Sunday night
REUTERS
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have sparked a backlash online by failing to congratulate Novak Djokovic on his recent US Open triumph.
The Serb won a record 24th Grand Slam on Sunday night by powering his way to a staight sets victory over Daniil Medvedev.
Djokovic has been widely hailed in the short time since, with the Serb now level with Margaret Court when it comes to the most majors in the Open Era.
But Federer and Nadal are yet to react to the 36-year-old's latest achievement.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been slammed online for failing to congratulate Novak Djokovic on his US Open triumph
PA
And tennis fans online have called out the pair, with one user saying: "The bitterness of Federer and Nadal towards Djokovic records and achievements is so blatant and I don't understand why people just accept and acknowledge that and realize that they are just not players with amazing sportsmanship and never have been."
Another user said: "They are not friends but they are colleagues.
"This is a historic achievement and Federer and Nadal are multiple winners of the award for sportsmanship.
"Roger did congratulate Coco [Gauff, who won the women's US Open], so this looks even worse."
A third user stated: "Hate duplicity. Hate PR machinations. Hate the manufactured bromance between Fed and Nadal.
"So I also don’t think Fedal should congratulate Novak because they are obviously not happy about it."
And another user amusingly suggested that both players may have issues with their internet, hence their delay.
"Just to advise that both Federer or Nadal are yet to publicly congratulate their peer Djokovic one achieving of the most remarkable ever feats in Tennis," they said.
"Even their PA teams can't mask their pain anymore it seems, or maybe they just don't have a WiFi signal?"
A fifth user simply stated: "True colours."
And a sixth said: "Nadal is an extremely competitive guy and I get that, but there comes a certain point where you start to look like a sore loser.
"Why can't he just appreciate Novak for his achievements and for the legendary rivalry they had? Wish we had more wholesome stuff like that."
Djokovic has now won two more Grand Slams than Nadal.
And he's four clear of Federer, who announced his retirement from the sport last year.
Djokovic has little left to prove in a game that he's dominated over the years, having won his first Grand Slam all the way back in 2008.
But he's got no plans to retire and confirmed his stance immediately after his win over Medvedev.
"I'm going to keep going. You know, I feel good in my own body," he said.
"I still feel I've got the support of my environment, of my team, of my family.
"The Grand Slams, I have said in the last few years, have been always the highest goal and the priority of mine in the whole season.
"I don't play as much in terms of other tournaments, so I try to prioritise my preparation so that I can peak in slams.
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"These are the moments and these are the kind of emotions that I motivate myself with every single day when I'm not playing a tournament.
"Yeah, occasionally I ask myself 'why do I need this still at this stage after all I have done, you know? How long do I want to keep going?' I do have these questions in my head, of course.
"But knowing that I play at such a high level still, and I win the biggest tournaments in this sport, I don't want to leave this sport if I’m still at the top, you know, if I'm still playing the way I'm playing."
As for Medvedev, the Russian bemoaned Djokovic's existence after his defeat but took the loss well.