Andy Roddick believes that Novak Djokovic can cement his place as the greatest of all time should he equal the Grand Slam totals of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic and his supporters have always believed the Serbian is underappreciated and often unfairly looked upon as the poor relation in the debate about which if the ‘big three’ are best.
However, his list of accomplishments have grown to such a level that it is tough to not make him favourite to eclipse his greatest rivals before they all hang up their rackets.
Former world number one Roddick believes Federer is leading the race right now, he believes Djokovic can change all that.
“If Novak Djokovic somehow gets to the point where he is tied for the all-time slams record with Rafa and Roger then it becomes very important on the head-to-head and Masters titles,” Roddick told the Tennis Channel.
“The fact that Novak, against basically everyone in the world, that he’s played more than a couple times has a winning record and against all people in this conversation also is insane.
“To have a winning head-to-head record against Roger, Rafa, [Andy] Murray – if Novak is tied on total Slams at the end, it is going to be really tough to argue against his resume.”
The Day Novak Djokovic Created History
During the course of his career, Novak Djokovic has set many records. Out of these, there is one that Novak is most proud of. He set this record on 19th August 2018 when he beat his great rival, Roger Federer.
What Record Did Novak Djokovic Set?
Prior to 2018, Novak Djokovic had never won the Masters title in Cincinnati. He had reached the final 5 times before but had suffered losses at the hands of Roger Federer and Andy Murray. After finishing runner-up 5 times, Novak was eager to lift up the trophy on his 6th attempt.
Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 6-4 6-4 at the Cincinnati Masters and in the process set a major record, He became the only man in the history of tennis to win all 9 Masters 1000 tournaments. This record was dubbed the ‘Golden Masters’ by tennis analysts.
Novak’s rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are not even close to completing this record. This is why I think among all the records Novak Djokovic has set, he will be most proud of this one. Right now, he is chasing another big record in his pursuit of greatness and it involves his rivals, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
After winning the Australian Open in 2020, Novak Djokovic took his grand slam tally to 17. He is now 2 behind Rafael Nadal and 3 behind Roger Federer. He will be looking to beat both of them and establish himself as the greatest of all time or rather the GOAT of tennis.
However, Novak will have to wait as the coronavirus has suspended the ATP tour. If the current situation persists, It is likely that we won’t see any tennis this year. Tennis fans do not want that and Novak fans definitely do not want that as they want to see him close in on the all-important grand slam record.
