Djokovic explains exactly why he’ll never be loved like Federer

Novak Djokovic has claimed his stature in the tennis world is an “injustice” after a brutally irritated admission about his popularity.

Novak Djokovic wrestles with his spot in the GOAT hierarchy.

Novak Djokovic can in the same moment be Superman and Lex Luthor.

The world No. 1 is still on track for an insane ninth Australian Open title at Melbourne Park, despite being plagued by a mystery injury following his epic five-set third round win over Taylor Fritz.

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Djokovic will on Tuesday meet German Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals, but continued to appear strained by his apparent abdominal injury when accounting for Milos Raonic in their fourth round match.

His struggles have been well documented this week with the Serbian admitting he would have pulled out of any other tournament except a grand slam as a result of the mystery injury.

It came after a crazy day of speculation around the Serbian superstar with few people actually sure of the true extent of his injury. Aussie Nick Kyrgios even took a sly shot on Instagram suggesting Djokovic may have been pretending about the injury in an act of gamesmanship to stop Fritz’s momentum in their match.

The scorn, suspicion and chilly reception to a win Djokovic described as “one of the most special wins in my life” has left the 33-year-old crying victim.

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Novak Djokovic says he won’t be silenced.

He said after his win over Raonic that the lack of appreciation for his gutsy win over Fritz was part of an “injustice” in how he is treated by the world’s tennis media and portrayed at times as the inconvenient threat to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

He said it seems unfair that Federer’s five-set win over Tennys Sandgren at the 2020 Aussie Open — where he survived a groin injury and defended seven match points — was celebrated so differently to his own great escape.

“That’s like opening Pandora’s box,” he said of his portrayal, according to Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo.

“If we begin to discuss that, we won’t finish this evening. Presumably there are millions of different reasons.

“Truthfully, I have mostly made peace with it. I cannot say that it doesn’t sometimes get to me – of course an injustice or an unfair portrayal by the media affects me. I am a human being, I have emotions and naturally I don’t enjoy it.”

Novak Djokovic has been less than pleased.

Switzerland's Roger Federer. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP)

He says he remains determined to speak his mind and won’t stop as a result of repeated public backlashes.

He claims some of his public comments have not been accurately portrayed in some media reports and says he has felt at times that there is an agenda against him.

“I am able to put my hands up and apologise when I have made a mistake, but yes, my mistakes are perhaps less forgiven in the public in comparison to other players and sports stars,” he said.

“Of course it hurts when baseless criticism is fired your way and when you’re treated differently, but in a way, that is the path I have chosen.”

Meanwhile, Djokovic on Sunday night refused to discuss his injury.

Love me.

“I understand you want to know but I don’t want to get into it, what it is,” he said post-match. “Yes, I did an MRI and I know what it is but I don’t want to talk about it now, I’m still in the tournament so I hope you guys understand.

“It’s not ideal for me, I definitely have felt better before my third round match with Fritz. I didn’t know a few hours before I stepped onto the court tonight whether I was going to play or not. I didn’t hit a tennis ball yesterday. I tried to use every single hour possible to recover and give myself at least every little bit of a chance to step on the court.

“If I was a part of any other tournament except for a slam I wouldn’t be playing. But it’s a grand slam, it matters a lot to me at this stage of my career and I want to do everything possible in this short amount of time to get on the court.”