Although yes , it may be disrespectful and probably shouldn ' t be said in the public , it also may make a bit of sense . Novak loves high competition and having to prove something with every match . Nadal and Fed were the ones that provided this for his whole career . Andy Murray hasn ' t been at that level until just recently . When Boris said Rafa and Fed were his competition that doesn ' t mean they are the only ones that will beat him , it means that they were what kept him at a high level and focused . When they leave it makes sense that his focus and drive would drop and he would start losing to players he truly is better than . Then Murray comes up really quickly and starts playing amazing and it just takes Novak out of his element . I think Novak will start playing better now that Murray has raised his game and he is # 1 . Again Boris probably shouldn ' t have said this , but it does make sense .