12-year-old Swiss prodigy reveals why he idolizes Novak Djokovic and not Roger Federer

Flynn Richter, a 12-year-old upcoming tennis player from Switzerland, has grabbed everyone's attention by making a surprising statement. In a recent interview, the high-flying prodigy said that he idolizes Novak Djokovic and not his own countryman Roger Federer.

Flynn Richter is a rising star on the junior circuit, who regularly participates in competitions where his opponents are older than him. In the recently held Swiss Championships, Richter recorded three victories with the scoreline of 6-0, 6-0 and another where the margin was 6-1, 6-1.

When asked about his role model, the 12-year-old elicited many raised eyebrows by answering Novak Djokovic and not Roger Federer. More strikingly, he even gave an explanation for his choice.

If the audience is against me, I'll just get better: Flynn Richter explains why he prefers Novak Djokovic over Roger Federer

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are two of the greatest stars of the modern era

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are undoubtedly two of the biggest stars across all sports. The European players share 37 Grand Slams between them, and have been ranked World No. 1 for a combined 592 weeks.

Last

year Federer and Djokovic collided in an epic Wimbledon final, which was edged by the Serb in a deciding set tiebreak. The match was recently labeled by Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg as the greatest contest of all time.

However, the Wimbledon 2019 final was noteworthy in one more aspect: the clear lack of crowd support for the winner. Djokovic spent almost the entire match trying to block out the boos in his direction, while Federer enjoyed rousing cheers every time he stepped up to the service line.

That caught the eye of Flynn Richter, since he himself is familiar with lack of crowd support. Richter has reportedly been receiving less than his fair share of cheers in his matches because of how dominant he, and he claimed that is why he identifies with Novak Djokovic.

"They do not like him (Novak Djokovic) that much either," Richter said. "If the audience is against me, I will only get better."

One of the possible reasons why Novak Djokovic has fewer fans than Roger Federer is because of how ruthless he is on the court. But the Serb has learned to use heckling from the stands as fuel for his tennis, and the 12-year-old Richter is trying to learn the same thing.

"Then I shout 'Come on,' and return the provocation," he said, when asked how he deals with spectators cheering his errors.

It is pertinent to note here that Flynn Richter has Asperger's syndrome - a developmental disorder where the individual faces difficulties in social interaction as well as non-verbal communication.

That Richter has managed to become so successful at such a young age despite the disorder, suggests that he is learning to adapt well - just like his idol Novak Djokovic.