Novak Djokovic is certainly the first choice of many tennis pundits when it comes to picking the best of all times. His records certainly testify his case and he’s also quite far from his retirement yet.
This means he will continue to amass more titles. However, his biggest adversaries in achieving this goal will always be the other two members of the Big 3 – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
While the three are already part of a thrilling Grand Slam race, they’ve been part of countless classic matches over the years.
There are many aspects that come up with respect to choosing a particular metric for the GOAT. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray tackled some of these on their Instagram Live session together. Djokovic was successful in highlighting one determinant which would be key.
What did Novak Djokovic say about the GOAT debate?
Novak Djokovic believes that to be declared the best, a player would have to be good on many levels. However, the chief metric would be to win the most number of Grand Slams.
“I think it’s combination of slams, the weeks at number one and obviously the Masters, the 1000 events and the head to head. I think grand slams would probably stand out.
But it’s really hard to say, even though I personally and very fortunate that I’m in the conversation, of course, and I’m honored. But, at the same time, it’s hard to really say greatest of all time taking the amount of slams you want or tournaments you want it whatever.
Because I’ve said this to everybody, I’ve had this opinion since forever, I really don’t go into the conversation of comparing generations. I really can’t compare.”
There’s certainly no denying that Novak looks like the frontrunner when it comes to Grand Slams. He’s already at 17 and he still has a good 6 years of play left in him. At the current rate, he can surely beat Rafael Nadal’s 19 and Roger Federer’s 20 Majors. To be honest, he looked practically invincible in the recent past. Do you think Novak Djokovic can be stopped?
Sue Barker: Maybe Novak Djokovic now will end up with the most Grand Slams
Former British tennis star and expert commentator Sue Barker says that after the current break, she thinks World no. 1 Novak Djokovic may end up with the most Grand Slam singles titles. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Barker says she never thought any player would break Roger Federer’s record but now the Serb looked quite poised to break the all-time record.
“The men’s game is so beautifully poised with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal vying to win the most Grand Slams. Maybe Djokovic now will end up with the most. I never thought anyone would catch Roger — it’s amazing to think that when he won (Wimbledon) in 2012 that was his 17th, and Novak only had five.”
Barker, a former World No. 3 and French Open champion in 1976, says she would love to see Serena Williams win her 24th Grand Slam singles title on the women’s side. “It would have been fascinating to see how that developed.
In the women’s game, I do genuinely feel for the first time in years we are seeing a young group who are really going to dominate. You get the feeling with that they are going to become household names, and that is what we need, not just players winning a big tournament and then fading.
I would love to see Serena Williams win her 24th (Grand Slam title) because I think she deserves it, but time is ticking on and Wimbledon this summer was a big chance for her, as well as being Roger’s big chance.’
Barker adds that she has been inspired by tennis legend Billie Jean King – one of the pioneering founders of the WTA Tour – without whom she would not have been able to accomplish as much as she did. “I remember Billie Jean telling me as she was approaching retirement, “You are the next generation and you have to take over and make sure you promote us.
If anyone asks for an interview, you just do it. We have to sell it or we won’t have a tour. I used to play 38 weeks a season as a top-10 player and make about £100,000 per year, so it was very different then. Perhaps other than athletics, tennis has produced more female superstars than any other sport, and a lot of that is down to Billie Jean.
