"He has a bit more of an arrogance to him" - Former hitting partner of Big Three on what separates Djokovic from Federer and Nadal

There is an ongoing debate as to which member of the Big Three, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, is the greatest of all time. Ex-collegiate tennis player Mike Digby had the fortune of acting as a hitting partner for all three, and gave his own account on what sets each member apart.

Digby was a collegiate tennis player in the United States, before graduating in 2019. He would then start a career on the tennis circuit as a hitting partner, practicing with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka and Jannik Sinner, in addition to the big three.

In a recent interview with Sportskeeda, Digby recalled his time as a hitting partner with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. The Brit highlighted each player's presence on court, and divulged how he could differentiate each one from the other.

"If I was blindfolded, they're very different auras," said Digby. "Federer, you can feel his presence just through pure quality of ball striking. So just the sound of the ball off the strings, the elegance that he brings when he does it, just the calm and class that he brings, you can just feel it.
"But on the flip side, Nadal would be someone that you can hear, right? His aura comes through what you hear through the heaviness of the strike, through the grunt, obviously, through the feet that you can kind of just hear him scurrying his feet.
"Novak has a blend of those two. He has a bit more of an arrogance to him. And I love that about him. That's genuinely not a negative comment at all. I think that if he didn't have that, he wouldn't be the Novak Djokovic that we all know. It makes him who he is."

Digby has been coaching Slovenian tennis player Tamara Zidansek since 2022, and was part of her team during her appearances at Wimbledon and The US Open in 2023 and 2024.