When it comes to tennis, every person, be it a player or fan, has an opinion on who is the toughest player to beat in tennis. For the most part, you can expect them to choose between Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal. It is no different with Horacio Zeballos, who believes Djokovic t be the one.
Novak Djokovic is a tough man to beat, nobody can deny that. The peak form that he displayed during 2011 and 2015-2016 is near impossible to match, even for the other two members of the Big Three.
Having played Djokovic twice, on hard and grass, Zeballos was unable to win even a solitary set. Perhaps he could have fared a little better had they ever faced-off on clay. The Argentine is a clay specialist and has something very few can boast of- a win over the King of clay!
That’s right, Zeballos has beaten Rafa on clay and more importantly, in a final. Back in 2013, Zeballos took home the ATP 250 title at the Chile Open.
Zeballos chooses Novak Djokovic
Coming back to the present, Zeballos recently answered one of the most frequently asked questions- who is the toughest man to beat in tennis? Take a look at what Horacio had to say.
“Without a doubt it is Djokovic. It is the most complete, the fastest and responds to the service with great ease. I think that against Roger it would be possible to give him more of a fight in some games. Nadal sometimes fluctuates in quality and intensity between surfaces, so I choose Novak. For me, I want Federer to play until he is 45 years old, he is unique. But technically I will stay with Djokovic. I think he will surpass Roger’s records, but I hope he deceives me ”
Clearly Zeballos loves Roger Federer a lot too, but there is little doubt who he believes to be the best tennis player.
“The Toughest Thing is to Play Against Novak” – ATP Player Drops Praise on Novak Djokovic
The Novak Djokovic juggernaut has been unstoppable from the past two years. The Serbian has claimed 5 Grand Slam titles since the Wimbledon 2018. Moreover, Djokovic has been the most dominant player of this decade if we go by numbers.
Djokovic is certainly the man to beat with a 100 percent win-loss record in the 2020 season before the outbreak of coronavirus. Two time ATP champion Robin Haase also believes that the World No.1 is the toughest player to defeat on the tour.
You feel like an amateur against Novak Djokovic – Robin Haase
Haase and Djokovic have faced each other thrice in their career so far. However, the former could not win a single set against Djokovic in all three attempts. He explained that Djokovic does not have a weakness and he makes the opponent feel like an amateur.
“The toughest thing is to play against Novak. Without any doubt. You feel like an amateur when you play against him,” said Haase as quoted by Sportsklub.
“I have never been close to a winning set against him. He doesn’t have weaknesses. Against the other players, there were moments when I felt I could threaten a bit — but against him, I had no idea what to do,” he concluded.
Djokovic brought his Grand Slam tally to 17 after clinching the Australian Open 2020 title. He is just two short of Rafael Nadal’s 19 Slams and three short of Roger Federer’s all-time record of 20.
However, he will have to wait for more to continue his momentum at the major events as the tennis tour is suspended due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus around the world. It is still uncertain when the tour resumes. However, it is certain that Novak will continue to make his opponents’ life miserable.
