DJOKOVIC HAS TIME AND MOMENTUM ON HIS SIDE TO BECOME GOAT
Serb now tied with Nadal and Federer on 20 Grand Slam titles apiece
With a recordequalling 20th Grand Slam title secured, Novak Djokovic has time and winning momentum on his side in the race to be crowned the GOAT — the greatest player of all time.
The world No. 1 went level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 majors with a sixth Wimbledon title thanks to his four-set win over Italy’s Matteo Berrettini on Sunday.
The 34-year-old has won eight majors and appeared in nine Grand Slam finals since turning 30.
Incredibly, when Federer secured his 20th at the 2018 Australian Open, Djokovic was still way back on 12.
“He’s amazing. He’s like in the movies. You have to kill the guy 27 times and still he gets up and you have to kill him again and he gets up,” said Goran Ivanisevic, one of the Serb’s coaching team.
‘Unbeatable’
“The guy is unbeatable at the moment. For me Novak is the best ever. He’s writing history.”
Ivanisevic believes that Djokovic’s coronation as the greatest male player of all time will come at the US Open in September.
A fourth career title there will make him only the third man in history to complete a calendar Grand Slam of all four majors after Don Budge in 1938 and Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969.
“He’s going to do it at the US Open. I strongly believe he’s going to win all four in one year. Then I think the debate is over,” said Ivanisevic.
At 34, Djokovic is a year younger than Nadal and has the best part of six years on Federer who turns 40 in four weeks’ time.
Former Slam winners John McEnroe and Mats Wilander believe Djokovic can easily win at least four or five more Slams.
When Djokovic won last month’s French Open, he became the first man in 52 years to claim all four majors twice and third overall.
No more for Federer
“I’m going to say Roger Federer’s never going to win another one,” McEnroe told the BBC. “I think Rafael Nadal wins one more and Novak Djokovic is going to win four or five more.”
Wilander added: “I think he will win another three next year and two or three the following year, so I think he ends up on 25 or 26.
When Djokovic won last month’s French Open, he became the first man in 52 years to claim all four majors twice and third overall after Laver and Roy Emerson.
It is not just at the Slams where Djokovic has tightened his grip on the race to be crowned the sport’s greatest.
He has 36 Masters titles, the same as Nadal. However, he is the only man to have won each one of the series and the only one to have won all of them twice.
Numbers speak
He has already surpassed Federer for total weeks in the world No. 1 slot — his 329th started yesterday.
In head-to-heads, he also has the advantage. Against Nadal he is 30-28 and 27-23 in match-ups with Federer.
However, Djokovic insists that he will never anoint himself as “the greatest”.
“I believe that I am the best, otherwise I wouldn’t be talking confidently about winning Slams and making history,” said Djokovic. “But whether I’m the greatest of all time or not, I leave that debate to other people.”