"He doesn’t fit in a neat and tidy box" - Journalist explains how Djokovic broke perceptions of being a "third wheel" in the Federer-Nadal dominance

American writer Ana Mitric recently claimed that it is impossible for Novak Djokovic to fit in a neat and tiny box like the tennis media wants him to. She also explained how the Serb managed to break the dominance of his great rivals.

Djokovic, now a 22-time Grand Slam champion, often struggles to match the popularity of his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Some fans like to look at the Serb as the villain, as he challenged the dominance of two well-liked players when he burst onto the scene.

While appearing on the Thirty Love podcast, Mitric, who is currently writing a book on Djokovic, remarked that fans think of him as 'the third wheel' in the era of Nadal and Federer. But that, according to her, is simply not true.

“He doesn’t fit in a neat and tidy box [and] a lot of people want him to embrace the villain role, or the spoiler, or some role that is tied to his arrival on the scene after Federer and Nadal, in other words this ‘third wheel’,” Mitric said.

“Since there was already this set, existing narrative about this rivalry, and these two incredible players it was sort of like, ‘Well, where do we put this guy?’, like, ‘What’s his deal?’" she added.

Mitric further stated that there is some resistance amongst the fans to view him as a hero and be seen in the same light as his rivals. She then claimed that that early perception of him - as a "joker" and an "impersonator" - has faded away, to give way to a more assertive personality.

“There was almost a resistance to him being cast as the leading man,” Mitric said. “If you remember back to his big-stage debut at the US Open in 2007, when he eventually played in the final against Federer – those were the joker days, the impersonation days, the clowning around days. Slowly but surely that faded away, and this other thing happened – this other person arrived on stage.”

"I had some great battles over the years with Roger Federer, that’s for sure" - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic cools down between games in the Men’s Singles Final against Stefanos Tsitsipas

Novak Djokovic recently lavished praise on Roger Federer, recalling his battles over the years with the now-retired legend. Federer retired from professional tennis after the 2022 Laver Cup, where he was joined by the Serb, among others, in an emotional farewell.

Speaking at his on-court interview after the Australian Open semifinal, Djokovic urged the crowd to give a big round of applause for the former World No. 1 and insisted that tennis continues to miss his presence.

"Let’s give a big round of applause to Roger, guys! Let’s go. He deserves it," Novak Djokovic said, "I had some great battles over the years with Roger, that’s for sure, you know. Tennis misses him for sure," said Djokovic.

On Sunday, the 35-year-old went on to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, taking his Grand Slam tally up to 22 -- two more than Federer's 20 and level with Rafael Nadal in the Slam race.