"So Novak Djokovic beat his idols Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, and now he hates him" - Fans slam tennis journalist for "petty" article on Serb

Novak Djokovic fans have voiced their blatant disapproval of a recently-written and published article on the Serb. The article, titled "The Unbearable Greatness of Djokovic", has been written by tennis journalist Scott Stossel, and it was published on The Atlantic on Friday, May 24.

The article starts with a remark from the author placed right under the title, which reads:

"Novak Djokovic may be the greatest tennis player ever - and I can't stand him."

In the article, Stossel has written about how Djokovic, despite his stellar achievements in men's tennis, has failed to garner the kind of love from fans that rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have. The journalist highlighted multiple controversial on-court and off-court instances involving the Serb to drive home his point.

However, the article has not at all gone down well with Novak Djokovic loyalists on social media. One set of fans took blatant swipes at the journalist, using derogatory terms to describe the article.

"What an unprofessional nasty malicious article! Like Christopher Clarey he is a rabid Fedal fan. So Novak beat his 2 idols, now he hates him with a passion. It says more about him than it does of Novak. Novak is loved by millions globally, 1 less biased hack is inconsequential," wrote one fan.

"How seething and shameful. Whoever slapped this together should be embarrassed," another fan commented.

"Nice boring, unoriginal, uninsightful piece of (garbage emoji) It makes me happy that Novak makes scum like you so unhappy," another fan chimed in.

Another set of fans opined that through the article, Stossel, being a self-confessed fan of Nadal and Federer, has desperately tried to paint Djokovic as a villain.

"At what point are fedal fans going to get over the fact that Djokovic doesn't neatly fit the villain role they desperately want to paint him into," one fan wrote.

"I am so bored of people who dislike Djokovic - either independently of liking Fedal or not - writing petty articles about said dislike. Bore off Scott," commented another fan.

"I think at this point it's fair to ask what would these clowns do without Novak Djokovic? Anytime they want engagement and clicks the usual "Novak is so unloved" crap finds a way to bore us yet again," chimed in yet another fan.

"That is how they portray me" - Novak Djokovic talked about being painted a "villain" at the 2023 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals

Djokovic's decision to take a toilet break during his first-round match against Roberto Carballes Baena at the 2023 Australian Open sparked controversy and he faced considerable flak for that.

Later, the Serb went on to speak about the incident in a press-conference following his second-round victory against Enzo Couacaud. The Serb said that he had grown accustomed to being potrayed as a "villain".

"In our organisation–ATP or WTA–there has to be a system of timely protection of players, someone who will react, do something about these things. I am an easy target to be the villain. That is how they portray me, for me that is now a normal occurrence–but I will not tolerate injustice," Djokovic said.

Currently, Djokovic is preparing to kickstart his French Open title defense following a shock elimination from the Geneva Open in the semifinals. He is slated to face World No. 143 Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round at Roland Garros on Sunday, May 26.