Nicolas Mahut believes Novak Djokovic will never be considered the undisputable GOAT and added that would never be the case if Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer had his accomplishments. From this Monday, Djokovic is also the player with the most weeks spent at the top spot in tennis history – he beat Steffi Graf’s record of 377 weeks at the world No 1 spot.
Since 2021, Djokovic is the player with the most weeks spent at No 1 in men’s tennis. When it comes to the Grand Slam race, Djokovic tied Nadal after winning this year’s Australian Open. Mahut expects Djokovic to also claim the all-time Grand Slam record “Novak is going to have all the records.
But even if he beats everything, there will always be a debate about the GOAT, which absolutely would not be the case if it was Federer or Nadal. I think Novak is underappreciated,” Mahut told L’Equipe, as revealed on We Love Tennis France.
Djokovic on how Nadal, Federer positively influenced his career
Last week, Djokovic held a press conference in Belgrade. When asked about Nadal and Federer, Djokovic explained how their presence made him work harder and ultimately this player.
“He (Nadal), on the other hand, started making big results earlier and next to Federer he is the player that has had the most influence on me. At the beginning of my career, I lost more from him than I won, as with Federer, of course, and they were my focus and the enigma of how to beat them.
The period from 2008 to 2011 was the period where I was in the Top 3 on world, but I didn’t win the Grand Slams and I didn’t break through that last hurdle, where those two were. I am grateful for those rivalries, especially with Nadal, and while we are active tennis players we don’t have the opportunity and we don’t allow ourselves to deal with the size and importance of our rivalry and from our perspectives and for sports as a whole.
When we finish our careers, I hope we will have a chance to talk a little. We will see if there will be more matches. I’m sure he will. Maybe already on clay. He still plays top tennis when he is healthy and fit and at his peak. He and I, like grandpas, make sure that these youngsters don’t take the Grand Slam titles,” Djokovic said.
