Djokovic never did himself any favors early in his career. He was notorious for questionable injury breaks during tight matches and of course, how many times does a man bounce the ball before he serves?!?
Crap like that didn't help pick up fans who were already spellbinded by Roger & Nadal. But to be fair, that was 10+ years ago. Does he try too hard to get the crowd to like him? Yes. Does his grass eating celebration at Wimbledon make you cringe? Kinda. But he crashed the most popular men's rivalry ever (arguably).
I don't recall the Rafa quote, but it doesn't surprise me. He's the classiest athlete I've ever come across. I've always appreciated Nadal's interactions with Novak more than Federer's. It seems pretty apparent Nadal has accepted him as a peer and equal, something Federer hasn't done.
I'll be in the minority, but I'll be happy if/when he passes Fed.