I haven’t yet ‘called’ Novak as the GOAT, for the simple reason that Rafa, unlike Roger, is not retired. Albeit unlikely, it is still possible for him to get to the highest # on the most important metric.. being 24 plus Slams. So, out of respect, I am not ‘calling it’ just yet.
"Out of respect, I am not ‘calling it’ just yet": McNamee not yet calling Djokovic the GOAT due to Nadal still being active
ATPSaturday, 17 June 2023 at 11:30
Paul McNamee has not yet called Novak Djokovic the greatest of all time out of respect for Rafael Nadal but he's confident that the Serbian will end up as that.
After every grand slam, we get a discussion about who is the greatest of all time. You'd think it's the most important tennis question and for many it is but it really isn't. Still we have numerous current and former players chiming in on who the greatest is and what it means and yada yada yada. Paul McNamee is the latest as the Australian former player pretty much settled on Djokovic as the greatest but he won't call it yet because he has respect for Rafael Nadal.
For what it's worth, it's smart as Nadal could come back to win more grand slams ending up in front of Djokovic. It's unlikely but you never know with these players. McNamee voiced his thoughts on Twitter as he so often does writing:
"I haven’t yet ‘called’ Novak as the GOAT, for the simple reason that Rafa, unlike Roger, is not retired. Albeit unlikely, it is still possible for him to get to the highest # on the most important metric.. being 24 plus Slams. So, out of respect, I am not ‘calling it’ just yet."
Djokovic will likely extend his grand slam record at Wimbledon because he's been so dominant at the event for the past few years. Nobody can really challenge him and it's evident in the fascinating stat that Andy Murray is actually the only player who will be in the Wimbledon draw to have ever beaten Djokovic on a grass court.
Many have tried but most of them, like Berrettini and Kyrgios failed to get it done so if you're hoping that Djokovic gets beaten at Wimbledon you're in trouble.
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