“Novak will not beat Father Time,” ATP hall-of-famer Andre Agassi makes a startling Novak Djokovic prediction, rooted in reality
Andre Agassi claimed that, based purely on stats, Novak Djokovic is the GOAT.
Andre Agassi (L), Novak Djokovic (R) (Sources: Imago)
Tennis legend Andre Agassi is one of the most acute observers of the game. Being an eight-time Grand Slam winner and one of the best players of his time, the American knows what it means to dominate the game at the highest level, and thus, his admiration for Novak Djokovic has always been very high.
In a recent interview, Agassi said that he sees the Serb being at the top of his game for a few more years but also said that he won’t beat Father Time.
For context, Father Time is the personification of time itself as an old time, and Agassi means to say that the aging factor will obviously have a toll on Nole’s performance eventually.
The best he can do is postpone it by a few more years. It must be noted that Novak Djokovic is 36 years old, and he is already in the process of postponing Father Time.
The only thing I’m absolutely convinced about is Novak will not beat Father Time. It’s just a question of how long you can postpone it. I definitely see a few more years of him being the one that has to be dealt with.Andre Agassi said via Theage
Talking about whether he sees Novak Djokovic winning 30 Grand Slam titles by the time he retires, Agassi said that nothing is impossible, but there are a lot of factors to consider in this aspect, the main factor being health.
Records are meant to be broken, and at the pace at which the Serb is currently going, there is no reason to doubt the possibility of that happening. However, he will have to take extra care of himself.
Andre Agassi talks about Novak Djokovic’s place in the GOAT debate
Ande Agassi admitted that based on statistics alone, it is very hard to deny that Novak Djokovic is a leading contender in the GOAT debate.
He has the most number of Grand Slams to his name by a mile and also has the most number of weeks as the World No. 1, not to mention his other records as well.
However, he then mentioned the elegance with which Roger Federer did what he did and the unmatched competitiveness of Rafael Nadal, which are also hard to ignore.
For me, it’s like what has got me on paper is one thing, but who’s who’s really benefited the game? I think the game has benefited dramatically from all of them. Absolutely.Agassi said.
Novak Djokovic will look to win his 25th career Grand Slam at the 2024 Australian Open. He has had a great start to the tournament with his win over Dino Prizmic in the first round.
In case you missed it:
- “I’m kind of divided between the two,” Novak Djokovic admits to feeling messed up during crowd interventions in the stadium at the Australian Open
- “I’m no spring chicken anymore,” Comeback looks great on Caroline Wozniacki as she draws a line between the intricacies of delivering performance with age
Rishab Dutta
(794 Articles Published)