"I don’t think so": Two-time Grand Slam winner refuses to call Novak Djokovic greatest athlete in sporting history despite completing his trophy cabinet

Former Russian tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov has refused to call Serbia’s Novak Djokovic as the greatest athlete in the history of sports. The 37-year-old is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic recently participated in the Paris Olympics, where he finally completed his trophy cabinet after winning the gold medal for his country. He defeated Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final in straight sets, 7-6, 7-6. Djokovic’s triumph in Paris sparked the debate about whether he is the greatest athlete in the history of sports after achieving everything he could’ve achieved.

Kafelnikov, who is a former Russian tennis player and won two Grand Slam titles, was recently quoted in a report by tennis365 where he argued against Djokovic being labelled as the greatest athlete in the history of sports. The 50-year-old was of the opinion that while the Serbian’s greatness in tennis is unquestionable, he still cannot be put on the same level as someone like NBA legend Michael Jordan.

“There’s no doubt that Novak is the greatest tennis player of all time, that’s for sure. You can’t put him on the same level as Michael Jordan… I don’t think so, because I grew up idolising the greatest athlete of all time, which was Michael Jordan,” he said. “All I wanted to do was watch him play live. To me, he’s still number one, but Novak is definitely in the top three greatest athletes of all time, without a doubt – all the accomplishments, the records he’s broken, the titles he’s won.”

Djokovic’s triumph in Parsi was special because of so many reasons. One of those reasons is how he returned to the court so soon after suffering a knee injury while playing on the same surface earlier this year. The Belgrade-born star suffered an injury during the French Open which forced him to withdraw from the competition just before the start of the quarterfinal against Norway’s Casper Ruud.