"I think he's gonna be no. 1 for 200 more for sure": Seven year old prediction from Viktor Troicki on Novak Djokovic that came true

Viktor Troicki, former Davis Cup teammate of Novak Djokovic, predicted that his compatriot would achieve much greater feats 7 years ago.

The former world No. 12 can claim to be one of the athletes who has closely witnessed 'Nole's journey over the years. Both of Serbian origin, they shared more than 10 years on the Davis Cup team and were key figures in Serbia's title in 2010, where Viktor Troicki won the decisive match against Frenchman Michael Llodra.

The 37-year-old former tennis player, who has served as Davis Cup captain and works with young talent Hamad Medjedovic, spoke in 2016 about Djokovic's just-accomplished 200 weeks as world No. 1 and confidently stated that he would continue making history by doubling that number.

“I honestly believe he's going to be the best of all-time... I really admire him and congratulate him on all that he's done. I think he's gonna be no. 1 for 200 more for sure."

Djokovic was coming off a great season in 2018, securing titles at Wimbledon and the US Open. This was the same year when Roger Federer claimed his 20th Grand Slam at the Australian Open, and Nadal won his 17th Slam at the French Open. While trailing slightly in the Grand Slam count, Djokovic had reached 14 at that point:

When Troicki was interviewed, he had no doubt that his teammate had the ability to surpass Federer's incredible record.

“His father always thought he would be the greatest in the world. He said he would have the most Grand Slam titles. People wondered how you could say such things about a child of 13.”

Since then, Djokovic has been the Tour's greatest dominator, winning 10 Grand Slam titles, followed by Nadal (5), Carlos Alcaraz (2), Dominic Thiem (1), and Daniil Medvedev. As of now, he has spent 409 weeks as the world No. 1, far surpassing Roger Federer's 310 weeks and Pete Sampras's 286 weeks. Additionally, he has just finished the year as the world No. 1 for the 8th time, a record in the Open Era.