I will never say who I think the GOAT is in tennis – Novak Djokovic

One of the hottest topics of discussion among the tennis fans is – Who is the GOAT? In the modern game, the Big 3 – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer are considered as the GOAT. But, Djokovic is never going to say who he thinks is the GOAT.

However, the Serbian feels GOAT discussions are good for the sport as he wants more youngsters to take up the game. Djokovic said he won’t say who he thinks is the GOAT due to respect for all the greats and all the champions in all the generations.

Meanwhile, Djokovic is the most successful male tennis player of all time with 24 Grand Slam titles, two more than Rafael Nadal. Djokovic is still going strongly at the top level and has a chance to add a few more to his tally.

Djokovic said in a conversation with Nick Kyrgios,  “For me it’s so hard to have this discussion but I think when it comes to tennis, I enjoy people talking about it.

“And the reason why – the more people talk about it, the more discussion there is towards tennis, so the more tennis benefits from that and as a tennis player, I want that for my sport, I want more children involved in the sport.”

He added, “But I will never say who I think the GOAT is in tennis, I will never say that, I’ll leave it to others. Mostly out of respect to all the greats and all the champions in all the generations before us.”

The veteran said he takes a lot of inspiration from players like LeBron James, Tom Brady, Serena Williams, and Cristiano Ronaldo as they have an insatiable hunger to succeed.

“Something I really admire with Lebron [James], and something I identify with, and Tom Brady as well and Serena is first of all incredible mind of a champion, hunger for success, for improvement, Cristiano Ronaldo is also like that,” explained Djokovic.

“But just willingness on a daily basis to take your body, your mind, your character, your emotions to a different level, to be better version every single day, to crush the borders and limits of everything everyone imposes on you, that’s something Lebron has been doing for so long and that’s why he’s still one of the best in the world, and something I respect and admire about him.”

Djokovic will be in action in the upcoming Roland Garros, which will begin on May 20.