Getty Images
The question of who is the best player of all time is more open than ever. For many, it has even been answered after the epic semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
For years, almost decades, the tennis world has been debating the greatest player in history. While in football you are spoiled for choice between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, in the tennis world you usually choose Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.
Most of the discussion participants did the math without Novak Djokovic. Although people have long been aware of the strengths of the Serbian, in the eyes of many tennis fans he only ekes out a shadowy existence. The choice of the GOAT (Greatest of all time) has to fall between Federer and Nadal. The magician or the worker.
A match for the ages
On this Friday evening, however, Novak Djokovic once again turned this discussion on its head in an impressive manner. In one of the most spectacular tennis matches in recent history, he brings Sand King Nadal to his knees in Paris. Djokovic fights and toil, but at the same time lets his sophistication flash again and again and unpacks magic strokes that every fan has his mouth open.
It doesn’t matter that Djokovic has not yet won the tournament. He eliminated the 13-time French Open winner. He has mastered a Herculean task that only he himself did in 2015 and Robin Söderling in 2009.
With a win on Sunday against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Djokovic could catch up with his two biggest opponents. If he wins the French Open, he would have 19 Grand Slam titles. Federer and Nadal are currently at 20. It would be almost foolish not to consider Djokovic as the best player in history in view of this starting position.
Statistics speak more and more for Djokovic
The more you have to question the discussion if you take a look at some other statistics than just Grand Slam titles. In terms of prize money, for example, the Serb has already left the competition behind. Around 148 million dollars are on the books, while Federer comes to 130 million and Nadal to 124 million.
In addition, Djokovic has long held the record for being number 1 in the ranking. The man from Belgrade has already spent exactly 324 weeks on the tennis throne, Federer comes to 310 weeks. And finally Djokovic also has a positive record against both supposedly best players of all time when it comes to the direct duels.
How important is character?
Of course, you can now hide all the statistics a bit and credit Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for having practically brought tennis into a new age. Both are considered down-to-earth, disciplined and eloquent, while Djokovic allowed himself to be carried away again and again to foolishness and dropouts.
The fact that he shouldn’t be the best player of all time because of this is probably primarily in the eye of the beholder. For fans with Swiss, Spanish or Serbian glasses, the choice will be clear forever. From a purely objective point of view, however, the search for the GOAT is more open than ever and Novak Djokovic will do everything in Wimbledon and New York to spit in the soup of his two biggest comrades-in-arms.
