With Novak Djokovic on the verge of completing the career Grand Slam should he win the 2021 US Open, many people have him on top of their list as the Greatest of all time (GOAT) in the world of tennis. However, Italian Matteo Berrettini believes this is not necessarily the case.
The World No.8 was asked if Djokovic was better than Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, the other two players who have cases to be considered the greatest tennis players ever. Berrettini responded by saying although Djokovic was breaking many records, he didn't believe the Serb was better than either of the other two contenders.
"No. It's always tricky this question for me because there are personal opinions and then there are the stats and stuff," Berrettini said. "I just know we are experiencing something that didn't happen in the last I don't know how many years.
"Just looking at the stats, just looking at the numbers, he's doing something that the other two didn't do. But then everybody can say the G.O.A.T. is one player or the other player. There are still some people that they think McEnroe or Sampras or Agassi was just better than him.
"It's a personal feeling. I think this is what is great about the sport."
This year's Wimbledon runner-up added that he feels honored anytime he takes the court against the Serbian, but would rather wait till all is said and done before deciding on who's the greatest of all time.
"I think playing against him is such an honor in a way because we are experiencing something that is great," revealed Berrettini. "I told him that I wished him good luck for what he is doing. At the end of the careers we can compare. But I enjoy them. I enjoy what they're doing. I don't like to pick one of the three."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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