Novak Djokovic is being hailed as the greatest of all time by his close rivals. Rafael Nadal said that Djokovic was the greatest of all time in terms of titles. The Spaniard had earlier spoken about Djokovic’s obsession with records. This time, Nadal went on to say that the numbers and statistics that Djokovic has achieved put him above the rest. Alongside Nadal, Andy Murray too agreed with the fact about Djokovic’s greatness.
Murray said that the energy to keep winning at the top level has been consistent with Djokovic. The Brit compared Nadal and Roger Federer, where they were consistent—but explained that Djokovic has been even more consistent. Nadal had been affected by injuries, and Federer slowed down after turning 30, but Djokovic has been consistently winning titles at the age of 36 without injuries.
Andy Murray says neither Federer or Nadal played consistently at the level Novak has at this phase in their careers:
“The motivation & energy to keep winning & keep performing at that level is brilliant. Of all of them, Roger, Rafa, they have all had long careers, but certainly… pic.twitter.com/okJVuDqBT1
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 21, 2023
Djokovic remains motivated to compete against the younger generations. Of late, only Carlos Alcaraz has been able to trouble him at the majors. Alcaraz is 16 years younger but has yet to decode Djokovic’s experience. Earlier, it was Federer’s longevity that was the talk of the game, and now it’s Djokovic. Since he stands alone in the field, there have been comparisons of Djokovic and Tom Brady.
Greg Rusedski feels Novak Djokovic and Tom Brady are the GOAT in their fields
In most sports, there are always a few athletes who go head-to-head in terms of records. Presently, Djokovic has been wiping out his nearest competitors. Just like that, the NFL has had a single hero who took out the majority of the records in the game. Tom Brady led the field for three decades; he had no arch-rival to compete with and was at the top of his game until the age of 44.
Former tennis player Greg Rusedski felt that Djokovic could only be compared to Brady. Rusedski said that Djokovic is the best athlete in the world right now. He said, “Djokovic’s consistency, what he is doing on court and what he is doing at his age – nobody has done before apart from Tom Brady with the Super Bowl wins.” Brady had won a record seven Super Bowls in his career while appearing in 10 of them.
Rusedski had played against Djokovic at the Davis Cup in 2006. The former US Open finalist lost the match in four sets and later paired up with Murray as they lost the doubles match, too. 17 years later, Djokovic is continuing the winning streak at the Davis Cup along with Murray. Djokovic is definitely the brand ambassador for consistency in tennis.
