Novak Djokovic was always ‘the gooseberry’ in Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal battle

Novak Djokovic is a victim of bad timing as he looks set to finish his career as ‘the gooseberry’ in the golden generation of tennis.

That’s the verdict of former Ireland No 1 player Conor Niland, who played Djokovic at the 2011 US Open and also beat Federer in his days as a junior.

In the first part of his exclusive interview with Tennis365 following the release of his compelling new book The Racket , Niland gave is his thoughts on the battle of the ‘Big 3’ as he gave his verdict on why Djokovic has never been a favourite for tennis fans around the world.

“Djokovic is the gooseberry in the Federer vs Nadal rivalry,” said Niland, who reached a career-high of No 129 in the ATP Rankings back in 2010 and played Djokovic on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open.

“It’s almost like Federer and Nadal are a couple of Novak came along to try and break them up. That’s how some tennis fans seem to see it.

“The fact that Djokovic came through a couple of years after them allowed him to raise his game to the level they were at and then he managed to sneak past them.

“He is not loved, but I think history will be kind to him. When he finishes, people might reflect on how special special Djokovic was, let’s see.

“Maybe Djokovic will surprise us and come back as a commentator or a pundit when he is finished and everyone will get a different view of him.

“He is wobbling a little bit now and hopefully knee surgery will go okay for him, but it looks like he is finally getting to the end of the road.”

Niland admits Nadal was the player he admired more than any other in the era dominated by the ‘Big 3’, as he suggested his presence in some of the sport’s most iconic matches was hard to ignore.

“Nadal was always the guy I found most fascinating,” said Niland, who is Ireland’s Davis Cup captain.

“He was involved in a lot of the greatest matches, the 2008 Federer final and the 2018 Australian Open final against Federer.

“I just found him to be the most charismatic, I suppose. Obviously, Federer is charismatic himself, but in a different type of way. So I always found Nadal to be the most compelling of the three.”

Many in tennis have expressed their concern over how tennis will respond when Nadal and Djokovic join Federer in retirement, but Niland suggests the sport in in good hands with Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and the two shining stars of the women’s game.

“Alcaraz is phenomenal and his rivalry with Sinner has got real potential to cross over to non-tennis fans. In fact, that has probably already happened,” added Niland.

“Coco Gauff also has that element of mass appeal, but Iga Swiatek just seems to be head and shoulders above everybody at Roland Garros.”

Niland’s new book takes readers behind the scenes on the tennis tour like never before, as he reveals the challenges of battling to get onto the biggest stages and struggling to kick down the doors to the game’s biggest tournaments.

The full interview with Conor Niland will be published on Tennis365 in the coming days.