Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic Archives

Djokovic responds to Nadal’s comments

Djokovic seemed the be referencing Nadal‘s comments after he won in France.

“I’m going for every possible record, as many as I can break. I’ve never had a problem saying that. And that’s why people don’t like me. I didn’t pretend like some people… to say that it’s not my goal, and then behave differently….I always tried to be consistent with what I believe in”.

He also said of the final against Grigor Dimitrov: “Today, I think we both were quite tight at the beginning, and I could see that he was running out of gas a little bit.

“Myself as well, but I somehow managed to find an extra shot over the net. I think the match was closer than the scoreline indicates, but another amazing win for me. I’m very proud of this one, considering what I’ve been through this week.”

The modern era in men’s tennis has largely been shaped by 3 men – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Big 3 of tennis, as the triumvirate is famously called, has dominated the sport in unrivaled fashion – winning a whopping 65 grand slam titles between them. Unsurprisingly, the G.O.A.T debate in tennis has revolved around these three for the past 2 decades. Fandoms have been divided and tennis pundits have had varying opinions regarding their choice for the greatest. When Jimmy Connors, the American tennis legend, gave his verdict on the debate, it caused quite a stir.

Connors put Novak Djokovic ahead in the G.O.A.T race snubbing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the process, during an episode of his podcast last week. In its latest episode, he seemed to clarify his stance from last week.

Jimmy Connors clarifies his stance a week after hailing Novak Djokovic at the expense of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Eight-time grand slam champion Jimmy Connors claimed that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are ‘not even the greatest of all time in their own era’. He hailed the 23-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic as the top guy in men’s tennis, during last week’s episode of Advantage Connors – a podcast of Jimmy Connors and his son Bret Connors. As a result, he had to face a lot of flak from the fans of Federer and Nadal after the episode was aired 7 days back.

In the podcast’s latest episode, Jimmy alluded to this fiasco and tried to clarify what he actually meant by those comments from last week. “I never said this, that Federer and Nadal aren’t the great players that they are. I just said there’s a new guy at the top of the heap, that’s all. Yeah, you know, and he’s won the most grand slams at the moment,” he said.

According to him, the bar for measuring the greatness of a player, for a long while now, has been the number of grand slams won and Novak Djokovic edges past both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in this respect.

The saga of famous personalities gushing over the legendary Serb has not just stayed limited to tennis. A few months back, legendary snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan expressed his huge admiration for Djokovic. What exactly did he have to say about the 10-time Australian Open champion?

Djokovic is one of the greatest athletes in the eyes of snooker great Ronnie O’Sullivan

In an interview with Eurosport back in April this year, legendary snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan mentioned how Novak Djokovic serves as a role model for athletes from various sporting disciplines.

While hailing the achievements of all the members of the Big 3, O’Sullivan pointed out how Djokovic stands out from the others. “For me, he will be the king of all. Whether you are a footballer, golfer or hockey player – everyone looks at Djokovic. He is one of the greatest athletes of all time,” he said.

With Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal hinting at a possible farewell run next season, Novak Djokovic is still dominating the tennis court, statistically surpassing his 2 great rivals in most departments of the sport. The G.O.A.T debate may always remain a matter of huge contention, but there’s no denying the fact that the impact of these 3 behemoths will linger on for ages to come.

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