5 Reasons why Novak Djokovic may never be the GOAT


5 Reasons why Novak Djokovic may never be the GOAT

Novak Djokovic

The GOAT debate in Tennis is just like the GOAT debate in other sports like Football, Cricket, NBA etc…. There will never be a clear winner, and you will never be able to change someone’s opinion on the debate irrespective of how many ever titles, accolades and individual achievements come in the way of rational debate.

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However, unlike Football where you can choose either of Ronaldo or Messi depending on your preference and you wouldn’t be caught out for doing so, this won’t be the case with tennis and so here are 5 reasons to try and convince readers, that the Djoker will never be accepted as the Greatest of All Time against his competition, namely Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Popularity with the crowd

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

Djokovic will almost certainly and inevitably par the 20 Slams won by Rafa and Roger but one thing that he will never pass Fedal in, is how much the crowd adores them. It is not something that he can definitely control but there have been instances where he could have stopped himself from doing something that would affect his relationship with the crowd, for example when he hosted a tournament in Belgrade in August 2020 when the World was feeling the full force of the Covid pandemic.

Having 4,000 spectators in stadiums was a recipe for disaster and Novak’s irresponsibility led to many participants testing positive for the Virus, including Grigor Dimitrov and Victor Troicki and to top it all off, his own wife Jelena.

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Playing Style not exactly Iconic

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

His opponents in the debate, Roger and Rafa both have aesthetically pleasing Gameplays and Djokovic’s style pales in comparison, coming off as ‘Robotic’ if it makes sense. Of course, this point is very subjective and depends person to person. But if you were to apply the ‘Eye Test’ as people do for football and cricket, you would most certainly find Djokovic lacking in that respect.

When you think of Rafa you think of his iconic Top-Spin forehand which comes to life especially on clay courts. When you think of Roger you think of his Effortless and graceful nature of both backhands and forehands. When you think of Djokovic which shot exactly comes to mind? That’s right, None.

Djokovic entered the spotlight 4-5 years late

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

Djokovic’s ‘era’ coincides with the time Federer and Nadal start dropping off in performances and wins due to various reasons like Injuries and most certainly Age. Roger has missed a huge chunk of tennis in the last 2 years and although Nadal has tried his best to maintain his level, he has already reached age 35. Federer meanwhile, has reached 39. Not exactly what you’d call ‘Prime Years’. Djokovic meanwhile sits 4 years younger than Fed and 1 younger than Nadal.

Djokovic only started winning major titles after 2010

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

Having a look at all 3 of the lists of the men having 20 Grand Slams you would most certainly notice that Djokovic has won all his Grand Slams after 2011, with the exception of the 2008 Australian Open. In comparison, Nadal has won a whopping 9 titles before 2011 and Federer has won a mind boggling SIXTEEN Grand Slams before 2011. This goes a long way in showing that Djokovic doesn’t match the timeline of Nadal and Fed.

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Aggressive and ‘In Your Face’ body language

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

Even when winning, ND loves kicking up some dirt as was apparent from his 8th Australian Open title final. After Djoko had missed a first serve, a fan gave out a loud cheer of ‘Yess!!!!’ from the stands. Novak gave him a death stare before going on to win the Final point and blowing a kiss in the direction of the aforementioned fan. Such actions can’t help but make people wonder how the other 2 legends would behave when in the same situation. Nadal would probably ignore and get back to his Pre-serve ritual and Federer would probably have not listened at all.

One day Djokovic will retire and will most certainly retire having won more Grand Slams and trophies than any player who has ever lived, and he probably doesn’t give a toss about what a fan like you or me thinks of him. But from a fan’s perspective, Djokovic will always be the holder of a Bronze medal in the Goat debate.

Also read: List of Champions at Wimbledon 2021