'I would have stuck a pie on him' - Marc Rosset tears into Novak Djokovic's father

Novak Djokovic's father Srdjan has courted controversy at various points of the Serb's career. Most recently, Srdjan Djokovic attacked Roger Federer for "being jealous" of his son, and claimed that the Swiss should consider retiring once and for all.

Both Srdjan and his son have been suffering the ire of critics ever since. Novak Djokovic himself has become the most talked about man in tennis over the lockdown period, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

His controversial Adria Tour, conducted with no social distancing norms and packed crowds, came to a grinding halt in its second stage at Zadar as Grigor Dimitrov tested positive for COVID-19. It later emerged that Novak Djokovic himself, along with Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki, were also positive for the virus. Moreover, the World No. 1 even refused to get tested in Zadar, opting to go to Belgrade instead - thus potentially carrying the virus across borders.

Many in Novak Djokovic's team and family have come to his defence amid the controversy. And his father Srdjan grabbed headlines once again after accusing Dimitrov of besmirching the name of the Djokovic family.

The Serb has found many critics over the last few months, one of which is former Swiss tennis player and Olympic gold medalist Marc Rosset. Rosset lashed out at Novak Djokovic's father over his comments on Federer, saying that the World No. 1 ought to control what his family says in public.

Novak Djokovic has done himself no favors over the past few days, says Marc Rosset

Novak Djokovic with his family at the Adria Tour

As reported by Bluewin, Rosset claimed that Novak Djokovic has done himself no favors over the last few weeks, with both the Adria Tour and his father's comments on Roger Federer.

"Taking up the chronology of the last days, there has already been the release of his father on Roger Federer which I find inadmissible. Even if you love your son more than anything world, you can't take out stuff like that," said Rosset.

"If my father had said that, I would have come home and stuck a pie on him! You can't talk about someone like that. It's simply stupid."

Rosset further went on to talk about Djokovic and how tennis fans are still confused about which category to put him under - which perhaps helps him on the court.

"Novak Djokovic is a pretty divisive character, whatever he says," Rosset said. "I also have the impression that he feeds on that. I do not judge the person because everyone has their sources of motivation and their beliefs. But, from a general point of view, Novak Djokovic remains an enigma."

The former Swiss star also compared the difference in popularity between Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and the Serb, trying to explain the reason behind it.

"It's hard for him to compete with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal from a popularity standpoint. I can understand how frustrating it is for him. He is World No. 1 and a great player, but he faces two legends," said Rosset.

"But, between the declarations of his father and the fiasco of the Adria Tour, he did not score points with the public. And, above all, it doesn't help the image of tennis."