Mats Wilander believes ‘there’s no threat’ from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to Novak Djokovic as the Serb survived their domination

Mats Wilander hailed Novak Djokovic for surviving Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and surpassing them in Grand Slam wins.

Mats Wilander believes ‘there’s no threat’ from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to Novak Djokovic as the Serb survived their domination

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Mats Wilander, Roger Federer (Images via Open Source/X)

No player, at least in the near future, will challenge Novak Djokovic‘s record of 24 Grand Slam titles as the player, who is second on the Grand Slam winners’ list, will soon call time on his career. Rafael Nadal, on October 10th, announced that the Davis Cup in November in Malaga will be the final tournament of his career, which means he will retire with 22 Grand Slam titles.

And this is why former player Mats Wilander, who now works behind Eurosport’s microphone, believes that Nadal and Roger Federer will not be a threat to Djokovic.

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Federer was the first player from the Big 3 to hang up his racket. His final tournament was the 2022 Laver Cup, where he played doubles with Nadal. Djokovic, 37, has confirmed in several interviews that he will not retire anytime soon, even revealing that one of his dreams is to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. 

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I think Novak is on a different journey than worrying about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in a way.  He surpassed them in Grand Slam victories and pretty much in every record that is worth counting. So I think that there’s no threat, obviously, from Rafael Nadal to Novak Djokovic.

Mats Wilander said on Eurosport

Djokovic last played at the Shanghai Masters and reached the final, which was also his second summit clash on the ATP Tour this season. He played World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and lost in straight sets.

Mats Wilander says Novak Djokovic should feel proud of himself

Mats Wilander wants Novak Djokovic to feel proud of his achievements. The Swede lauded the Serb’s winning mentality and his ability to survive everything to break many records.

Novak Djokovic (4)
Novak Djokovic (Image via X)

I think Novak will feel so proud. I mean, sad in a way, but he lived through the storm. Yes, he’s younger than both Roger and Rafa, and Andy [Murray] and him, I think, are the same age or pretty close, but he survived it all. He is the winningest male tennis player ever.

Mats Wilander added

Djokovic’s last Grand Slam title was the 2023 US Open, and since that victory, he just reached the Wimbledon final. As he kept missing tournaments one after the other earlier this year, he not only lost his No. 1 spot but also failed to grab a title on the ATP Tour.

Djokovic, however, bagged his maiden Olympic gold medal in Paris. Before his next ATP tournament, he will be playing in an exhibition event called the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh.