One of the most discussed topics in tennis is who the best male tennis player of all time is, and for some of the game’s all-time greats, Roger Federer will always be the legend.
With his 24th Grand Slam victory at the US Open, Novak Djokovic has confirmed his status as the most famous prize holder in the history of the men’s game and appears poised to end it as its most successful player.
Rafael Nadal, Djokovic’s toughest opponent, is also a contender in the GOAT discussion since he has won 22 Grand Slam titles, including an incredible 14 victories at the French Open.
Although Federer cannot compete with Nadal and Djokovic in the Grand Slam numbers, some of the game’s greatest players argue that Federer should still be considered for the GOAT title.
Former player Tim Henman stated his remarks about this debate and said: “There are two different conversations to be had about the greatest player, the best player, that comes down to a numbers game and Djokovic will win that. If you are talking about impact and popularity, it is a one-horse race and there is no doubt that Federer is the most popular player that has ever played our sport. Overall, Djokovic is the best of all time on the numbers, but many will still pick Federer because of what he contributed to the game on so many levels.”
Former tennis legend Mat Wilander expressed his remarks by saying: “You know I don’t like the saying who is the GOAT, because ‘greatest of all time’ is one thing, but ‘best of all time’, we will give to Novak Djokovic these days. The ‘greatest of all time’, I like to give to Roger Federer because I think he put tennis in everyone’s TV set.”
Tennis doubles legend Mike Bryan gave his take on it and said: “All three of these great champions are amazing, but for me, it has to be Roger Federer at the top. Those few years when he was dominating, he barely lost any matches. The way he does is it always so smooth. He doesn’t sweat, he is just like a zen master. He is also the most relaxed in the locker room. When it’s all said and done, who knows who will have all the records? It will probably be Djokovic, but I will always have a special place in my heart for Roger.”
Novak Djokovic in 2023
At the moment ranked no.1, the Serbian played his last match on the 15th of September when he defeated world no.25 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 6-4 in the Rubber 2 of the Davis Cup (draw).
At the moment, during this season Djokovic has managed to achieve an overall 46-5 record. The Serbian has won 5 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open, Cincinnati and U.S. Open. Novak got to the final in Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal in 2023
Now the world no.240, Nadal played his last match on the 18th of January when he capitulated to world no.39 Mackenzie Mcdonald 6-4 6-4 7-5 in the 2nd round of the Australian Open (draw).
This year Nadal has achieved an overall 1-3 record.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal faced off 59 times. Their head to head is 30-29 for Djokovic. Before, the last time they played each other, Rafael Nadal won 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(4) in the quarter in Paris (French Open) in May 2022.
Here the video highlights.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal |
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