Novak comment on Fed : “He showed me he is one of the best players of all time.”

[McEnborg]

Maybe he didn’t choose his words carefully, or maybe it was calculated. Either way, that is a ridiculous thing for Djokovic to say. For one, As of right now, Fed is unquestionably the greatest of all time. 103 titles to Rafa’s 84 and Novak’s 77. Most majors at 20.

Most slam finals at 31. Most slam semifinals at 46!! 57 slam QF’s or better.

Novak and Rafa could catch or even surpass Fed, but right now, he’s still the greatest. And Roger didn’t have to gut out a sloppy win (with an ailing back at age 38) for Him to prove anything to Novak. How many matches has he won? Over 1300? Novak complimenting him on his resilience is great but using this win to call him “one of the best of all time” is absurd.

Now, I’ll wait for some of the “Legends” on TW Discussion forum to make a condescending comment.

 

[6august]

55555

 

[GabeT]

TTW triggered! Alert!

 

[WhiskeyEE]

If I were Novak, I would probably consider myself the best ever tbh.

If I were Nadal I might even as well since then I might actually care about clay court tennis.

 

[TripleATeam]

Believe it or not, "one of the best" is a superset of "the best".

Also, this provides room for past legends of the game without disrespecting anyone. Federer, Laver, Gonzales, Sampras, whoever else you want to add... they all deserve the praise they get for where they took tennis. Unequivocally saying Federer is the best without talking about them is more disrespectful than this "slight," in my opinion.

 

[BringBackSV]

Maybe he didn’t choose his words carefully, or maybe it was calculated. Either way, that is a ridiculous thing for Djokovic to say. For one, As of right now, Fed is unquestionably the greatest of all time.

Hahahahahahahahaha. How can you seriously believe something that silly?

Tip for the day: Learn the word arguably

 

[Sport]

Djokovic says what he thinks. He is convinced that he will surpass Federer's Slam record and so he refuses to call him the GOAT.

It was 100% intentional and he will never change.

 

[BringBackSV]

Believe it or not, "one of the best" is a superset of "the best".

Also, this provides room for past legends of the game without disrespecting anyone. Federer, Laver, Gonzales, Sampras, whoever else you want to add... they all deserve the praise they get for where they took tennis. Unequivocally saying Federer is the best without talking about them is more disrespectful than this "slight," in my opinion.

It's also dumb to pretend that taking a snapshot makes sense when Novak and Rafa are still young enough and accomplished enough to surpass him.

People should get over this laughable idea of a goat

 

[Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil]

He said the same thing at the Wimbledon ceremony. One of the best instead of the one and only. And it's fine either way.

 

[Sport]

Believe it or not, "one of the best" is a superset of "the best".

Also, this provides room for past legends of the game without disrespecting anyone. Federer, Laver, Gonzales, Sampras, whoever else you want to add... they all deserve the praise they get for where they took tennis. Unequivocally saying Federer is the best without talking about them is more disrespectful than this "slight," in my opinion.

Interesting comment. I agree that it leaves a room for being diplomatic toward the past players to call Federer "one of the best". But I don't think Djokovic did it for that reason.

It is the nature of Djokovic's personality to openly express what he genuinely thinks, to be extremely confident opening his thoughts. He has been raised by a parent who always repeated him "you are the greatest ever and you will prove it". His parents believed in him even before his ridiculous success in the 2010s decade. They transmitted to him the confidence and "arrogance" if you want to call it like that.

In the US Open 2019, in an interview for The Wired, they asked Novak: "are you the greatest of all time?". He replied: "you tell me".

 

[RelentlessAttack]

Novak wouldn’t he the champion he is if he had the mindset to defer to Roger when he’s getting so close in achievements. Be glad you have Novak and not more Berdychs and Gasquets. Nadal thinks the same but just won’t say it out loud

 

[McEnborg]

As of right now is what I said. And as of right now, Fed is UNQUESTIONABLY the greatest. And if you can’t see that his having won NINETEEN more titles than Rafa, his superiority to Rafa on hard court and grass, his 6 year end championships to Rafa’s none...makes him greater player as of now, you’re beyond foolish.

And if you can’t see that his having 4 more majors and TWENTY SIX more titles than Novak, as of right now, makes him the greater player, you’re simply arrogant and blind.

And if you actually have the complete and utterly foolish notion that it is “arguable” of him being greater than Laver, Borg, Sampras, Budge...Isn’t it interesting that LAVER calls him the best ever....as did BORG!!!

I never said Novak may not surpass him, but let’s see him do it first. So many of these comments are ridiculous. BTW, I’m not 19 years old. Actually pushing 60 and have followed the game for 45 years. But the “Hall of Fame” TW legends have all the answers, huh? The arrogance on this board is amazing to see.

 

[TripleATeam]

Interesting comment. I agree that it leaves a room for being diplomatic toward the past players to call Federer "one of the best". But I don't think Djokovic did it for that reason.

It is the nature of Djokovic's personality to openly express what he genuinely thinks, to be extremely confident opening his thoughts. He has been raised by a parent who always repeated him "you are the greatest ever and you will prove it". His parents believed in him even before his ridiculous success in the 2010s decade. They transmitted to him the confidence and "arrogance" if you want to call it like that.

In the US Open 2019, in an interview for The Wired, they asked Novak: "are you the greatest of all time?". He replied: "you tell me".

Probably. The words leave room for interpretation. Novak is by no means a humble guy. None of them are, truly. They are great and they know it. They want to be the greatest there ever was. If I were in Novak's shoes, I'd frame things the way I thought about them - and I don't think it's beneficial to call one of your rivals the greatest of all time because that just elevates them in your mind. I'd just group together my rivals, call them great, and that'd be the end of it.

 

[McEnborg]

Hahahahahahahahaha. How can you seriously believe something that silly?

Tip for the day: Learn the word arguably

How??? FACTS. WINS. Statistics. I’ll also defer to Johnny MAC and Laver himself calling Fed the best ever. Oh, and Tony Nadal. Is that good enough for you?

 

[RelentlessAttack]

How??? FACTS. WINS. Statistics. I’ll also defer to Johnny MAC and Laver himself calling Fed the best ever. Oh, and Tony Nadal. Is that good enough for you?

Nope, eras are not comparable

 

[Luthor]

Nothing wrong in what he said. Fed fans thinking everyone should say he is the GOAT, jeez...

 

[McEnborg]

And it’s not a foregone conclusion that Novak will catch Federer. He’ll be 33 in 4 months. He’ll be contending with Medvedev, Thiem, Tsitsipas, Zverev and a few more in the next few years. All of those guys have beaten him in semis or finals of tournaments. And presumably, they’ll be getting better. As of right now, Novak is still solidly behind Fed. There should be no argument about that. Based on what?

 

[Benoit Kyrgios]

Imagine calling someone the best of all time when you beat him so many times in important matches. What hypocrisy would that be? Novak said it right

 

[McEnborg]

Imagine calling someone the best of all time when you beat him so many times in important matches. What hypocrisy would that be? Novak said it right

How convenient of you to not mention Novak wasn’t playing Fed that much in Roger’s prime years. You conveniently left out the part of most of those wins being against Roger past 30 years of age.

 

[Benoit Kyrgios]

How convenient of you to not mention Novak wasn’t playing Fed that much in Roger’s prime years. You conveniently left out the part of most of those wins being against Roger past 30 years of age.

It is undisputable that Djokovic's peak level is higher than Federer's

 

[McEnborg]

Nope, eras are not comparable

So why would Laver and McEnroe say Fed is the most talented player and best all around player the game has ever seen? Name one player with the all around game and shotmaking as Federer? I’ll be waiting.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

Haha Federer fans triggered. Novak isn’t a lap dog like most of the tour against fed. He believes he’s better than him and will beat his records.

Novak respects roger but know he has the beating of him. As we know djoko is a mental giant and wins the mind games battle too.

 

[Tenacity]

OP, you sound really triggered.
I mean, it is not strange that Novak doesn't want to call him outright GOAT, if such thing exists. After all, Djokovic is his main rival, besides Nadal ofc, and is still trying to tie and surpass Roger.
Try to calm down and enjoy the semis between these two legends, it might be the very last one.

 

[Deleted member 763691]

When compared to Rafa/Djokovic, Federer has hardly won any slams since 2010
So you have to go back a long, long, long time to find proof of Federer being the greatest.
Its easy to lose memory of 2004-2009.

 

[McEnborg]

Haha Federer fans triggered. Novak isn’t a lap dog like most of the tour against fed. He believes he’s better than him and will beat his records.

Novak respects roger but know he has the beating of him. As we know djoko is a mental giant and wins the mind games battle too.

I’m actually a Novak fan as well, but you’re so focused at throwing shade you can’t see this comment was not necessary. I actually think Novak has a good chance to get to 20 majors, maybe 21 or 22 and to 100 titles. But it is far from a far gone conclusion. Thiem, Tsitsipas and Medvedev believe they can beat him. Part of Novak’s brilliance is his defense and court coverage. Like a running back in football, if he loses even 5-10% of that due to increasing age, his dominance becomes diminished. He doesn’t have the all court game of Fed to make up for that as well.

 

[GabeT]

As of right now is what I said. And as of right now, Fed is UNQUESTIONABLY the greatest. And if you can’t see that his having won NINETEEN more titles than Rafa, his superiority to Rafa on hard court and grass, his 6 year end championships to Rafa’s none...makes him greater player as of now, you’re beyond foolish.

And if you can’t see that his having 4 more majors and TWENTY SIX more titles than Novak, as of right now, makes him the greater player, you’re simply arrogant and blind.

And if you actually have the complete and utterly foolish notion that it is “arguable” of him being greater than Laver, Borg, Sampras, Budge...Isn’t it interesting that LAVER calls him the best ever....as did BORG!!!

I never said Novak may not surpass him, but let’s see him do it first. So many of these comments are ridiculous. BTW, I’m not 19 years old. Actually pushing 60 and have followed the game for 45 years. But the “Hall of Fame” TW legends have all the answers, huh? The arrogance on this board is amazing to see.

19 more titles than Rafa is a criterion? You do realize that’s based on 250 and 500 tourneys, right? Fed has won a total of 49 250/500s vs 29 for Nadal.

 

[RelentlessAttack]

So why would Laver and McEnroe say Fed is the most talented player and best all around player the game has ever seen? Name one player with the all around game and shotmaking as Federer? I’ll be waiting.

People say all kinds of things, Federer says he was better in 2015 than his younger years as @Lew II famously likes to point out. Is he correct?

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

I’m actually a Novak fan as well, but you’re so focused at throwing shade you can’t see this comment was not necessary. I actually think Novak has a good chance to get to 20 majors, maybe 21 or 22 and to 100 titles. But it is far from a far gone conclusion. Thiem, Tsitsipas and Medvedev believe they can beat him. Part of Novak’s brilliance is his defense and court coverage. Like a running back in football, if he loses even 5-10% of that due to increasing age, his dominance becomes diminished. He doesn’t have the all court game of Fed to make up for that as well.

Fair enough man. I respect your post. I understand that. However, I’d rather him say that than saying post match “Federer is the greatest ever and it’s going to be such a difficult match.”

When you are a champion like Novak you don’t want to sound like you fear anyone. I honestly see nothing wrong with his comment, Fed is one of the greatest of all time but Rafa and Novak are in the conversation too. Yes Fed is still on top still but the gap is narrowing and nothing much in it now.

I do understand what you saying though and of course we don’t want Novak to be over confident either. It’s a balance I guess.

 

[Sysyphus]

Usain Bolt is in the top 50% of humanity on the 100m

 

[BVSlam]

Have people considered something else: maybe Federer's biggest life goal isn't to be the greatest of all time and for all his rivals to confirm that? Maybe he just wants to compete and win as much as he's able to and see what he ends up with? Maybe Fed himself is 100% fine with Djoko's choice of words.

Just an idea, since apparently many people here want to be the spokesperson of Fed's greatest personal desires in life.

 

[CYGS]

As of right now is what I said. And as of right now, Fed is UNQUESTIONABLY the greatest. And if you can’t see that his having won NINETEEN more titles than Rafa, his superiority to Rafa on hard court and grass, his 6 year end championships to Rafa’s none...makes him greater player as of now, you’re beyond foolish.

And if you can’t see that his having 4 more majors and TWENTY SIX more titles than Novak, as of right now, makes him the greater player, you’re simply arrogant and blind.

And if you actually have the complete and utterly foolish notion that it is “arguable” of him being greater than Laver, Borg, Sampras, Budge...Isn’t it interesting that LAVER calls him the best ever....as did BORG!!!

I never said Novak may not surpass him, but let’s see him do it first. So many of these comments are ridiculous. BTW, I’m not 19 years old. Actually pushing 60 and have followed the game for 45 years. But the “Hall of Fame” TW legends have all the answers, huh? The arrogance on this board is amazing to see.

Triggered.

 

[CYGS]

I’m actually a Novak fan as well, but you’re so focused at throwing shade you can’t see this comment was not necessary. I actually think Novak has a good chance to get to 20 majors, maybe 21 or 22 and to 100 titles. But it is far from a far gone conclusion. Thiem, Tsitsipas and Medvedev believe they can beat him. Part of Novak’s brilliance is his defense and court coverage. Like a running back in football, if he loses even 5-10% of that due to increasing age, his dominance becomes diminished. He doesn’t have the all court game of Fed to make up for that as well.

No you are not.

 

[Fabresque]

Never have I ever seen this level of petty before. Wow. The man calls Federer one of the best to ever play the game yet there are still supporters on here who want to “call Novak out”. Call him out on what? Praising one of his greatest rivals?

Jesus

 

[weakera]

Maybe he didn’t choose his words carefully, or maybe it was calculated. Either way, that is a ridiculous thing for Djokovic to say. For one, As of right now, Fed is unquestionably the greatest of all time. 103 titles to Rafa’s 84 and Novak’s 77. Most majors at 20.

Most slam finals at 31. Most slam semifinals at 46!! 57 slam QF’s or better.

Novak and Rafa could catch or even surpass Fed, but right now, he’s still the greatest. And Roger didn’t have to gut out a sloppy win (with an ailing back at age 38) for Him to prove anything to Novak. How many matches has he won? Over 1300? Novak complimenting him on his resilience is great but using this win to call him “one of the best of all time” is absurd.

Now, I’ll wait for some of the “Legends” on TW Discussion forum to make a condescending comment.

Novak knew he would violently trigger you and other Federer fans and that's why he said it. He probably had a laugh about it with his team later.

 

[Lew II]

He's right, Federer is not the GOAT. On thursday he will be 10-21 at Slams against his two main rivals.

 

[powerangle]

OP, why so triggered? His comments leave room for other past legends and Rafa and himself. He probably thought it better to phrase it that way out of respect for all the legends of the game. JMac and Borg are talking heads now and they can sensationalize things (not that I'm saying that Fed's not the greatest); everyone can say what they want.

You list all these stats to back up Fed. Well then, if stats speak for themselves, why are you getting your panties in a twist?! You know that you feel Fed is the greatest. Well okay, then. Why can't you be happy with that? Must everyone agree with you in all aspects of life?

And yes, as previously mentioned, "one of the greatest" is a superset of "the greatest". Doesn't mean Novak himself doesn't think Fed is the greatest. Maybe he wanted to overall be diplomatic?

 

[CYGS]

OP, why so triggered? His comments leave room for other past legends and Rafa and himself. He probably thought it better to phrase it that way out of respect for all the legends of the game. JMac and Borg are talking heads now and they can sensationalize things (not that I'm saying that Fed's not the greatest); everyone can say what they want.

You list all these stats to back up Fed. Well then, if stats speak for themselves, why are you getting your panties in a twist?! You know that you feel Fed is the greatest. Well okay, then. Why can't you be happy with that? Must everyone agree with you in all aspects of life?

And yes, as previously mentioned, "one of the greatest" is a superset of "the greatest". Doesn't mean Novak himself doesn't think Fed is the greatest. Maybe he wanted to overall be diplomatic?

They can't hide their fragile ego obviously.

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

 

[ABCD]

Do you know whether Federer ever defined Djokovic as "one of best players of all time"?

 

[duaneeo]

Its easy to lose memory of 2004-2009.

Today, Nadal would have 13 slams (no CYGS), 163 weeks at #1, 4 YE#1's, and 20 Masters if not for the 6 slams, 15 Masters, 46 weeks at #1, and YE#1 earned from 2005-2009, so surely a true Nadal fan would never lose memory of those years.

 

[DjokoLand]

Why did the OP even bother bring up overall titles ? There all on the same(close) in Slams master and WTF combined. Fed has won about 30+ 250/500 nobody cares about them

 

[TMF]

It is undisputable that Djokovic's peak level is higher than Federer's

 

[tennisaddict]

Djokovic is not a native English speaker . He is awkward in on the spot interviews . Often his response is ‘You tell me ‘. Glad he didn’t give that response on his thoughts about Kobe.

He knows Fed is the GOAT. That gif is legendary

 

[BeatlesFan]

People should get over this laughable idea of a goat

90% of every thread on TTW is this topic, so people aren't going to "get over it."

 

[BeatlesFan]

Djokovic is not a native English speaker . He is awkward in on the spot interviews .

Oh come on.... Novak speaks absolutely impeccable, flawless and fluent English. He's also, by far, the most articulate tennis player, surpassing even those who are native English speakers. You can use your description for Nadal, certainly, but never Djokovic.

 

[JaoSousa]

Believe it or not, "one of the best" is a superset of "the best".

Also, this provides room for past legends of the game without disrespecting anyone. Federer, Laver, Gonzales, Sampras, whoever else you want to add... they all deserve the praise they get for where they took tennis. Unequivocally saying Federer is the best without talking about them is more disrespectful than this "slight," in my opinion.

I think it was the word "showed" that made him think that.

 

[McEnborg]

No you are not.

I really am, but you know me huh? I’m just weary of people not seeing the totality of Fed’s greatness. 15 years between major wins, 46 slam semis or better. Wrap your brain around that. 31 slam finals. 103 titles. Winning tournaments at 36, 37 and 38. One point from winning Wimbledon a month shy of 38th birthday.

All you have to do is watch Fed and Novak together at the Laver Cup. Fed’s all around game is clearly superior. Better volleys, better drop shot, better net movement, better hands. Novak was a whole level behind Fed in terms of shot making. Toni Nadal said Fed is the most talented player by far the tour has ever seen. McEnroe said it as well. What Novak does better than anyone in history is groundstroke precision, court coverage and return of serve. I’ll give you that for sure. But all around, Fed is the greater “tennis” player. If Novak gets to 21 majors, I may change my position, we’ll see.

 

[CYGS]

I really am, but you know me huh? I’m just weary of people not seeing the totality of Fed’s greatness. 15 years between major wins, 46 slam semis or better. Wrap your brain around that. 31 slam finals. 103 titles. Winning tournaments at 36, 37 and 38. One point from winning Wimbledon a month shy of 38th birthday.

All you have to do is watch Fed and Novak together at the Laver Cup. Fed’s all around game is clearly superior. Better volleys, better drop shot, better net movement, better hands. Novak was a whole level behind Fed in terms of shot making. Toni Nadal said Fed is the most talented player by far the tour has ever seen. McEnroe said it as well. What Novak does better than anyone in history is groundstroke precision, court coverage and return of serve. I’ll give you that for sure. But all around, Fed is the greater “tennis” player. If Novak gets to 21 majors, I may change my position, we’ll see.

No you are definitely not. No Nole fan would be triggered by such a plain, politically correct statement. Don't fool yourself.

 

[TMF]

I really am, but you know me huh? I’m just weary of people not seeing the totality of Fed’s greatness. 15 years between major wins, 46 slam semis or better. Wrap your brain around that. 31 slam finals. 103 titles. Winning tournaments at 36, 37 and 38. One point from winning Wimbledon a month shy of 38th birthday.

All you have to do is watch Fed and Novak together at the Laver Cup. Fed’s all around game is clearly superior. Better volleys, better drop shot, better net movement, better hands. Novak was a whole level behind Fed in terms of shot making. Toni Nadal said Fed is the most talented player by far the tour has ever seen. McEnroe said it as well. What Novak does better than anyone in history is groundstroke precision, court coverage and return of serve. I’ll give you that for sure. But all around, Fed is the greater “tennis” player. If Novak gets to 21 majors, I may change my position, we’ll see.

Well said.

 

[Lleytonstation]

Do you know whether Federer ever defined Djokovic as "one of best players of all time"?

He already admitted that Djoker is likely to pass him.