Chris Evert has defended Novak Djokovic in the greatest of all time (GOAT) debate following remarks about his motivation from Rennae Stubbs.
World No. 1 Djokovic made history at the US Open earlier this month when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles.
Along with this, the Serb has 96 ATP titles to his name and has been at the top of the ATP Ranking for a total of 391 weeks. Now, this feat has led many to call Djokovic the GOAT in the sport. However, others still disagree, leading to many disputes among fans and players alike on social media.
Former doubles World No. 1 Stubbs was of the opinion that even with his titles, Djokovic would never be as popular as his fellow Big Three members Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal because of his motivations. However, this didn't seem to come from a place of malice as Stubbs still praised his achievements.
"I think Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal definitely personified wanting to win a lot but it's obsessive to Novak and you can see it. He wants to put the numbers up because he knows he's not gonna be as popular worldwide as Roger and Rafa.
"I think I'm right in saying that, it's just a fact. I think he wants to put the numbers up so much that 'Yes they may be more popular than me but I'll always be the greatest and I'll always have the numbers over them' and he doesn't care and I admire him for that," the Australian tennis coach said.
However, former World No. 1 and 18-time Grand Slam champion Evert hit back at Stubbs' comments, saying that Djokovic's motivation was irrelevant and he should receive recognition for his record-breaking successes in the sport.
"To me, it doesn’t really matter where his motivation to win comes from, the fact is, he’s passing the other two and should be admired for his achievements and his records," she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
To me, it doesn’t really matter where his motivation to win comes from, the fact is, he’s passing the other two and should be admired for his achievements and his records….🤷♀️💪
This woman is sooooo upset 😂 Rennae Stubbs, former coach of US tennis legend Serena Williams, said Djokovic wants to win more trophies than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal because he knows he cannot match the popularity of the Swiss and the Spaniard tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Te…
