'I wouldn't practice with Roger Federer – I didn't think he was good enough'

A tennis star once snubbed a practice session with Roger Federer after believing the Swiss star wasn't up to scratch. Despite being hailed as one of the greatest players in the sport's history, Federer once faced scepticism, even from those within the sport.

Federer, who retired in 2022, boasts an impressive record of 20 Grand Slam titles, including eight Wimbledon victories. However, at the start of his career, not everyone was convinced of his potential greatness.

One such doubter was Fernando Meligeni, a former French Open semi-finalist, who declined the opportunity to train with a young Federer in the early 2000s. Speaking to We Love Tennis, Meligeni recalled how he and his team turned down the offer from Peter Lundgren, Federer's coach.

He said: "We were in Hamburg, and Peter Lundgren asked us to play with him. And we didn't want to. 'Federer isn't good, he doesn't play very well.' So we said no."

Meligeni further justified his harsh assessment of Federer, saying: "First, because he broke everything, he was too nervous. His backhand was pretty bad, weak.

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"And we played on clay, which he didn't play so well on either. Then he started playing better on hard courts, and clay came later. But that's typical."

However, Meligeni soon changed his tune about Federer after losing to him in the doubles at the 2003 Australian Open. He recalled: "I was playing with [Anthony] Dupuis, a Frenchman. And he was playing with [Yves] Allegro.

"It was in the second round of the Australian Open, and that's when we realised he was actually playing really well."

In stark contrast to Federer, Meligeni, now 54, was immediately impressed by Rafael Nadal upon his first meeting with the Spaniard. He said: "When Nadal appeared, I met him when he was 15 in Aix-en-Provence. He reached the final, I lost in the quarter-finals or semi-finals, and we had a chat in the changing room.

"You could tell that the kid played really well and that he was going to be great. [Spanish player] Alex Corretja told us, 'This kid is going to be number one in the world.' Sure, sure. And when I saw him play, I knew it. He played very well."

From the legendary 'big three' who ruled men's tennis for 15 years, only Novak Djokovic is still playing at the top level.

The Serbian legend, who sits on 24 Grand Slam titles, returned to action with a commanding straight-sets triumph over Marin Cilic in the second round of the Shanghai Masters.

Competing in his first tournament since the US Open and his first non-Grand Slam encounter since May, Djokovic defeated the powerful Croatian 7-6 (2) 6-4. He faces German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in the third round on Sunday.