Novak Djokovic: On a quest for ultimate tennis supremacy and undying crowd love says John McEnroe
ATP
Novak Djokovic only continues to play admits John McEnroe due to legacy desires and wanting to distance himself as the greatest of all time as form doubts continues after his opener against Pierre Hugues Herbert at the French Open.
Djokovic wasn't at his sparkling best, but he didn't need to be in a fairly simple opener at times despite facing some adversity and lulls. Evaluating the current scope of Djokovic, McEnroe is befuddled as to how Djokovic has kept it going for so long.
But that in breaking basically all of the records, he only really has a few items to tick off his list which McEnroe says is for the crowd to love him more and for himself to win more majors. In reality, his next milestone will be number 25 as an outright number and will distance himself further.
But in reality aside from a sudden Rafael Nadal return to form, the Serbian will remain the greatest likely for a generation at least with no-one likely to touch his dominance. A legacy he is only looking to expand upon.
“I don’t know how Novak has kept it up this long. Certainly, some of it is to chase Roger and Rafa and now he has to look at the younger group,” McEnroe told Eurosport.
“It’s a tall order now he’s 37 years old, but he’s done an amazing job with his career. It’s hard to argue he’s not the best player of all time.
“To me, Rafa was the best on clay, Roger was the best on grass and Novak was the best on hard courts.
“Novak talks a lot about being in the right headspace and having that zen feeling but that’s not what he has had this year. I’m not sure why, no-one does. This is the test to see out a Major and see how deep he might have to dig if necessary.
“There’s been a lot of change. A new coach, got rid of the manager and physio. It seems to be impacting his on court play but he wants to get away from Nadal and Federer as possible at the Majors.
“I would’ve been surprised if Nadal went deep and won it but I wouldn’t be surprised if Novak won it. He is still ranked No 1 in the world and you can’t count him out.
“He has pretty much broken every record but is just looking to distance himself at this point. He wants to win a couple more Majors and have the crowds love him more.”
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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