Roger Federer’s former coach Ivan Ljubicic has claimed that Novak Djokovic can make the GOAT debate meaningless if he goes on to win a few more Slams in his career. The Serbian recently won his 23rd Grand Slam title after winning the French Open to become the most successful male tennis player in terms of the number of Majors win.
This was the third French Open title for Novak Djokovic as he wrote his name in the history books. The Serb won the Roland Garros final by beating Casper Ruud in straight sets.
Djokovic, 36, is still playing at the top of his fitness and he has been a beast, especially when it comes to playing in Slams. Thus, it is expected that Djokovic will end with a few more Major titles than Rafael Nadal, who has confirmed that 2024 will be his last season on the tour due to injury woes.
In fact, recently Roger Federer claimed that it is a bit difficult to pick Novak Djokovic as the GOAT as there are many factors to it.
“I feel that Novak is the most successful already, but the word ‘greatest’ implies subjectivity and personal preference,” explained the former No.3 Ivan Ljubicic. “I think that’s good, to be honest – everybody has a preferred GOAT and let the discussion begin.
Ljubicic continued, “If we look at other sports, for example, is there a (definitive) GOAT in football? In basketball, everybody agrees that it’s Michael Jordan, but he’s not the one with the most trophies. It’s someone that most influenced you personally: for a third of the world it’s Federer, for the other third of the world it’s Nadal and for the final third it’s Novak.”
“If Novak wins a few more Slams – which seems likely at this point – then the debate becomes meaningless. If Novak ends up having five to ten more than the others, we won’t have conversations like this anymore.”
On the other hand, Novak Djokovic had earlier claimed that he can’t call himself the GOAT as it will be disrespectful to other players of different eras.
“I don’t wanna say that I am the greatest because I feel it’s a disrespect for all the champions from different eras of our sport, played in totally different way that is played today,” said Djokovic. “Each great champ has left a legacy.”
He added, “I leave the GOAT discussions for someone else. I have a great belief in myself and what I’m capable of doing. This trophy is a confirmation of the level of tennis I still can produce. Grand Slams are my checklist at the moment”.
Novak Djokovic will be chasing his 24th Grand Slam title in the upcoming Wimbledon, which starts July 3.
