Rafael Nadal has admitted that Novak Djokovic is the greatest tennis player of all time, but he didn’t expect to receive further questions to clarify his words. He knows there are no arguments that can refute it.
Novak Djokovic is without a doubt the greatest in tennis history, as absolutely all relevant numbers are on his side. We know that Djokovic has won the most Grand Slams (24), has been at the top of the ATP rankings the longest (428 weeks), has the most Masters titles (40), won a gold medal at the Olympic Games last summer, and on top of that, has a better head-to-head record against his greatest rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
However, there are many who won’t “tip their hats” to him for this and will try to proclaim other tennis players as the greatest of all time. This is especially the case with Roger Federer, who “stole” the title of greatest from Pete Sampras when he surpassed him in the number of Grand Slam titles, while there are also those who will put Rafael Nadal at the top of the all-time list.
Interestingly, the legendary Spaniard is not among them, having ended his professional career last fall, as Rafa, in one of his most recent interviews, openly admitted that for him, Novak Djokovic is the greatest ever. Federer, however, never has.
Is Djokovic the Best in History for Nadal?
When a journalist pointed out that Djokovic broke his racket 62 times, while Nadal never did, which should supposedly be an argument in the Spaniard’s favor, an awkward silence followed. Rafa explained that these are “moments of frustration” that exist in everyone, they just approach those emotions differently.
“It’s a matter of tolerance and frustration, or self-control. Novak Djokovic breaks rackets, but wins the next point one hundred percent. That means he refocuses. The frustration lasts a second while he breaks the racket, and then he’s ready to compete again with full focus. And that’s why he’s the only one who has managed to do what he’s done in our sport,” Nadal said, full of admiration for the Serbian tennis player with whom he shared the court 60 times.
“Is Novak the best in history? The numbers say he is. And for me, he is. Based on what I’ve seen, Novak is the greatest of all time,” Nadal said. “Novak is greater than Federer and you?”
It seemed that Nadal surprised the journalist, who continued to question him, adding whether, when he says that Novak Djokovic is the greatest, he automatically excludes Federer and himself from the historical race?
“I have no problem with ego and I don’t say things I don’t feel. I think in the end it can be said that I was more injured, that he won so many Grand Slams, titles, and so on… But, at the end of the day – he had a better body than me. You know, that also counts,” Nadal laughed and said that they played historical matches, primarily remembering the duel at the Australian Open 2012, but he has a “plus” that they never played five sets at Roland Garros and believes he would have had a better chance to win there.
Nadal also said that he shared the dearest part of his career with Federer, as well as with Djokovic, and points out that they “took a lot from each other, but also gave a lot.”
“We managed to achieve an incredible level because of how much we demanded from ourselves. It will be hard to repeat. We knew we couldn’t miss anything, that the other one was always there. Such competition pushed us beyond our limits,” Nadal concluded his analysis.
What Did Djokovic Say About Nadal?
Recently, Novak Djokovic thanked Nadal and Federer for defeating him in his youth, which hardened him to become better than he thought he could be, and how could he not, having played a total of 110 matches against them. He was more successful than both of them, and he himself admits that Nadal was his greater rival.
“I’ve said many times, he’s my greatest rival. Matches against him on clay frustrated me a lot during my career, but they made me a better player. I realized what I needed to do to beat him,” Djokovic said in an earlier interview.
Source: Mondo, Photo: Profimedia