To be honest, Novak Djokovic is arguably the best Tennis player to have ever grazed the courts. These days, he is on a spree about making Grand Slam finals, even at 36. Having made it to the finals of all four Grand Slams in 2023, he lost only Wimbledon to the incredibly talented, Carlos Alcaraz. People are awe-struck by the levels at which he operates at this age and reserve special praise for him due to this reason.
Patrick Mouratoglou, former coach of Serena Williams is one of them and believes Novak is in fact, better than Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. Pat added, “I think I said that he will probably be the record holder of number of Grand Slams when he had 12 or 13. He was dominant already.” That’s quite a statement and in all fairness, it has been proved, fair and square.
The Frenchman had always maintained that Novak’s biggest advantage was his belief in himself and competitiveness. Though the caliber of Rafael Nadal on clay is indomitable, he felt the Serbian was a superior force on all other surfaces. According to him, the U.S. Open champion had this special ability to win more and constantly.
He also opined, “He was still young and I knew that his body was in perfect shape and ready to last much more than Rafa, for example, who had so many injuries and has a game that is painful for the body,” thus asserting the edge that Djoker enjoys over Rafa. He concluded that the Serb’s game is not painful for the body and he has an exemplary fitness regimen. Hereby, deeming him “the perfect athlete for tennis”.
Rafael Nadal quips Novak Djokovic to be the best when it comes to numbers
When asked about the comparisons between him and Djokovic, Rafael Nadal responded “I believe that numbers are numbers and statistics are statistics, and in that sense, I think he has better numbers than mine and that is indisputable.” He added that he doesn’t have an ego that overshadows reality, and that is the truth.
According to Rafa, injuries are part of the sport and shouldn’t be blamed for a player’s slump. Rather, it should be put down to his inability to compete and nothing should be taken away from Novak’s success. The Spaniard went on to state that he congratulates Djokovic for everything he is achieving and doesn’t get frustrated by his success.
Nadal concluded that he is behind Djokovic and he has maintained the same stance right from the time when he had the most Grand Slams to his name. He says he prefers to stay in reality and not try to be what he is not. To clarify further, he said he is satisfied with what he has done.
Thus, Rafael Nadal cleared the air about his comments on Djokovic in an earlier interview which faced a backlash from the Serb’s fans. For now, all seems to be well between the two legends of the sport. But, there can be no denying the fact that Novak Djokovic is a cut above the rest. In all probability, he should leave a legacy for himself in the world of Tennis, that would be hard to emulate.