Jimmy Connors responds to criticism of his statements about Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal (Provided by Tennis World DE)
Jimmy Connors says he doesn’t deny that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are all-time greats, having previously said the pair ‘are not even the greatest of all time in their own era’.
While discussing the debate about the best player of all time on his podcast Advantage Connors last month, Connors named Novak Djokovic as who he thinks should be considered the best player of all time.
“Look at all the people who have been on the Federer and Nadal train as the greatest of all time. They’re not even the greatest of all time in their own era”Connors said on the last episode of the Advantage Connors podcast last week.
As expected, Connors’ comments drew resistance from Federer and Nadal fans. In the latest episode of his podcast, Connors acknowledged that Federer and Djokovic are two all-time greats. Yet Connors also suggested that it was Federer and Nadal’s fans who pushed the idea that the number of Grand Slam titles should be used as the ultimate criterion in the best player of all time debate.
Djokovic currently holds the record with 23 Grand Slam titles, while Nadal has 22 and Federer has 20.
Connors reacts to criticism after the previous statements about Federer and Nadal
“They made the rules that the Grand Slams became the most important thing.
‘He’s won so many Grand Slams and that’s why he’s the best.’ For me I go back to every day, every match, every tournament, every year, it seems that has changed in the last 15-20 years where it’s all about grand slams and how many you win.
I’m not saying and never said Federer and Nadal aren’t the great players they are, I just said there’s a new guy at the top, that’s all. And he has won most Grand Slams at the moment.
I didn’t say they weren’t great players and I’m not in the slime business anyway. I won’t say if they are or not. They are and they’ve proven it, and they’ve been for 15, 16, 17 or however many years they’ve been playing with the number of Grand Slams they’ve won.
I’m just saying that the rules have been set on the importance of the Grand Slams. That’s all I’m saying,” Connors explained on the latest edition of his podcast, loudly Sportskeeda.
2023-08-02 20:15:23
#Jimmy #Connors #responds #criticism #statements #Roger #Federer #Rafael #Nadal
