Novak Djokovic discussed his on-court rivals at a sporting awards event this week and while he praised Carlos Alcaraz, he left Roger Federer out in the cold

Novak Djokovic discussed Carlos Alcaraz at the awards ceremony on Monday (Image: X)

Novak Djokovic has dismissed the notion that Roger Federer was his greatest ever rival by name checking Rafa Nadal instead. The 24-time Grand Slam champion was talking at the 2025 Laureus Sports Awards this week, where he also claimed that he hopes to face-off against Carlos Alcaraz at the on-going Madrid Open.

While discussing the recently retired Nadal at the ceremony, Djokovic rather bluntly made reference to the Spaniard being his most prominent on-court foe, leaving out Federer in a glaring omission. The trio of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal are often noted as the three of the game’s finest ever players, with their rivalry considered a mutual affair, yet the Serbian’s snub seems to suggest otherwise.

Nadal, 38, was honoured with the Laureus Sporting Icon Award on Monday evening and Djokovic waxed lyrical over the Spanish icon. “I remember extraordinary matches against Nadal, the biggest rival of my career,” he said.

Yet, he reserved his utmost praise for Alcaraz. The two-time Madrid Open champion and Djokovic are in the same half of the draw at the ATP Masters 1000 event and are on a collision course for the semi-finals.

Alcaraz beat Djokovic in the last-four of the event back in 2022 and the 37-year-old is now hoping he gets a chance to enact his revenge. “After the loss to Alcaraz [In 2022] I hope to reach the semi-finals,” he said. “I’m looking to reach my maximum level. He is a nice person, very good, with great values.”

The seven-time Wimbledon champion went on to shower praise upon his young rival, adding: “His team, Juan Carlos Ferrer, his family… They are good people. That’s more important than anything else. He’s obviously an extraordinary champion. He is very young, he already has many titles and successes, but as a person, I like him, he always has a smile on his face.”

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are seen as three of the game’s best ever players (Image: Getty)

Alcaraz arrives in Madrid in good form, having won the title in Monte-Carlo and having reached the final in Barcelona this month. Djokovic meanwhile is preparing to play at the Madrid Open for the first time since that defeat to the Spanish star in 2022.

However, after some concern over his motivation as enters the twilight of his career, Djokovic has acknowledged that, while he isn’t the favourite for the title, he is determined to perform well at the event.

“If I’m not motivated, I’m not here, I don’t play anymore. I put the racket to rest,” he said to Eurosport. “I still feel the desire to play, the passion to compete is always there.

“I always have very good feelings when I return to Madrid, to Spain. It’s a country I love very much. I’ve won the Madrid Open three times in my career, with extraordinary matches against Nadal and Alcaraz.”