Boris
Becker compared
Novak Djokovic to Lionel Messi, LeBron James, and Tom Brady,
pointing to him as the "best sportsman" of the moment.
The World
No. 1 had a brilliant season at 36, winning three Grand Slam titles in the year
and reaching the historic milestone of 24. Djokovic holds numerous records in
ATP with over 400 weeks as world No. 1, 40 Masters 1000 titles, seven ATP
Finals, and eight years finishing at the top of the rankings.
Recently,
the German
Boris Becker, former coach of 'Nole', commented on the Tennis
Podcast of Eurosport Germany that Djokovic transcends tennis and should be
compared to the best athletes in other sports, even claiming he is the best
sportsman of the moment.
"Maybe
you have to look at it more generally and he's not just the best tennis player
at the moment, but the best sportsman. I want to compare him to a Lionel Messi,
a LeBron James and a Tom Brady," Becker said.
"For
me, that's the category Novak is in because all these athletes are dominating
or have dominated their sport even in their mid or late thirties," he
added.
"I
hope he continues to do so for a long time because nothing better can happen to
young players than to compete on the same level as the most successful player
of all time. That's the best lesson in tennis," former wold No. 1 claimed.
The German,
who now works with Holger Rune, highlighted Djokovic's ability to stay at the
top level for so many years:
"For
me, he is the lion king. We do our best to teach tennis fans what is impossible
to teach: What this player has won in his 16 or 17-year career and that he is
perhaps playing his best tennis at the age of 36," Becker stated.
"He
has won three Grand Slam tournaments this year and reached the final at
Wimbledon - he was close to the calendar Grand Slam at the age of 36. This is
out of this world," he added.