How does one define who gets to be called the greatest player of all time? That is the million dollar question in sports and it often comes with a level of subjectivity. There are names that stick out for obvious reasons. In basketball, Michael Jordan sits towards the top. In Hockey, there’s Wayne Gretzky. Football is Tom Brady. In baseball, the answer is less obvious with Nolan Ryan and Hank Aaron towards the top but several other players that warrant consideration. What happens in a sport like tennis where the status of greatest of all-time (GOAT) is in constant dispute? Well, I think whoever has won the most big titles should automatically receive GOAT status. So, inevitably this means that Serbian star Novak Djokovic is tennis’ GOAT, having won the most Masters 1000 titles (38), record-tying number of major singles titles (22), and record-tying number of ATP Tour Finals singles titles (6). Yet, many people in the tennis community, mostly members of the media, have constantly denied Djokovic’s status as the GOAT of tennis by continuously moving the goalposts. It was first about whoever wins the most major singles titles, but now that he is one away from breaking that record, they turn to Masters 1000 singles titles. As noted already, Djokovic has the most Masters 1000 singles titles. So that’s a nonsensical argument. Now it’s about whoever has won the most ATP Tour Finals singles titles, but he is one win away from breaking that record so they move the goalposts again. Now it’s whoever has won the most singles titles overall. He has 93, which is 4th in the Open Era. The record is 109, held by American Jimmy Connors. Taking all of this into account, it begs the question, will Novak Djokovic ever receive the recognition he deserves?
Novak Djokovic made his professional tennis debut in 2003. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2006 Dutch Open. He won his first major singles title at the 2008 Australian Open, the first of ten major singles titles in the land down under. He won the U.S. Open and Wimbledon for the first time in 2011. Djokovic won the first of his two French Open singles titles in 2016. In 2021, Djokovic won the first three majors of the year, but his loss to Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open Final denied him of the calendar grand slam. Djokovic has won a total of 22 career major singles titles tied with Spanish player Rafa Nadal, and two ahead of retired Swiss player Roger Federer. Djokovic’s ten Australian Open titles are the most all-time. Djokovic won his first Masters 1000 title at the 2007 Miami Open. he has a total of 38 Masters 1000 singles titles, a men’s tennis record. Djokovic won the year-end ATP Tour Finals singles title for the first time in his career in 2008. He has 6 total titles at that event, including his most recent 2022 triumph. This puts him in a tie with Roger Federer. Conversely, Rafa Nadal has never won the year-end tournament. As mentioned before, Djokovic has won 93 ATP singles titles in his career so far.
With a resume as impressive as Djokovic’s, what could possibly hold him back from being crowned the GOAT of men’s tennis? There are three reasons, all of which are equally nonsensical. The first is the “Big Three” argument. The term Big Three is synonymous with the trio of tennis greats Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer, who for the last two decades have captured the awe of tennis fans all over the world. Nadal’s masterfulness on clay courts, Federer’s razzle dazzle style of play, and Djokovic’s dominance on the hard courts of the Australian Open gives each of these gentlemen their own unique distinctions. So, fans and journalists alike don’t want to award GOAT status to any of these players. The argument is that they should be treated equally, even though Djokovic has been shattering records left and right, including records previously held by Nadal and Federer. Djokovic being on the cusp of breaking the record for most year-end titles and most major singles titles all-time is proof that he clearly stands out the most among the Big Three. This isn’t to say that we should shove Nadal and Federer’s accomplishments under the bus, only that Djokovic is now clearly the more superior of the three. The next silly holdback is Novak Djokovic’s perceived personality problems. Not knowing Djokovic personally, I can’t speak to his character, but he seems like a nice guy even if journalists and players don’t see it that way. Even if he was a jerk, how would that take away from the storied career he has had? Greatness isn’t defined by personality. It’s defined by accomplishments on the court. Lastly, Djokovic is a very outspoken individual and has made headlines in recent years over controversial issues regarding Covid-19, and foreign affairs. This is also a stupid argument because of all the self-described social justice warriors constantly shoving their opinions down our throats, but get offended when someone like Djokovic voices a dissenting viewpoint. Why should political opinions of any kind take away from a player’s greatness? That’s probably the most ridiculous argument against Djokovic being crowned GOAT. The obstacles that Djokovic has to go through on a regular basis to prove that he’s the greatest male tennis player ever is not something we see in other sports. It’s ridiculous. At this point, Djokovic could perform CPR to save someone’s life and people would still find a way to hate the man.
The ongoing conversation about Djokovic’s status as GOAT is exhausting to cover. So, why is it being brought up again? Well, a few weeks after Djokovic was cleared to play in the 2023 U.S. Open upon the expiration of the Covid-19 travel vaccine mandate expired in the United States, Djokovic has made headlines once again over a controversial opinion expressed following his first round victory at the 2023 French Open. We’re not even going to discuss the Covid-19 mandate controversy, because it’s just beating a dead horse at this point. What got him in trouble this time was Djokovic’s message that he wrote on a TV camera asking for a ceasefire between Kosovo and Serbia. It is common for players to sign the camera or write a message immediately following a victory, so what Djokovic did was not unusual. At the core of the ongoing conflict between Kosovo and Serbia is whether Kosovo, a region of Serbia, has the right to exist as a sovereign nation. Kosovo has received the recognition of independence from 101 countries since its declaration of independence in 2008, Including the United States. Serbia, however, does not recognize Kosovo as a sovereign nation. It’s been an extremely volatile territorial dispute between the two governing bodies for the last 15 years and the recent military operations in the region has created a humanitarian crisis. So it seems reasonable that Djokovic, a native of Belgrade Serbia, would want the conflict to be resolved in a peaceful manner. Crazy that calling for a ceasefire is now considered controversial. Djokovic’s courageous remarks should have received praise from the media, not scrutiny. The mainstream media has long sought to manufacture unnecessary drama surrounding Djokovic at every turn possible. Instead of recognizing him as the greatest male tennis player ever, they choose to turn him into a pariah.
It seems that no matter what Novak Djokovic does, he will never receive the proper recognition he deserves. At least not in the foreseeable future.
Novak Djokovic will play his second round match at the French Open on Wednesday against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics at 11:15 AM mountain standard time zone.
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