Novak Djokovic has the chance to write a new page of history at the US Open. The last Slam of the season will start on Monday August 30 and will not see several famous players on the starting line. Indeed, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and defending champion Dominic Thiem will be absent, not to mention the absence of Serena Williams in the women’s tournament.
The spotlight will be almost entirely on the number 1 ATP, who will try to complete the Grand Slam at the Big Apple. Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas seem to be the rivals most credited with putting a spoke in the wheel, also considering their recent performances in the Masters 1000 in Toronto and Cincinnati.
In the event of a triumph at Flushing Meadows, the 34-year-old Belgradois would move up to 21 Majors, bypassing eternal rivals Roger and Rafa for the first time. Recall that the Serbian phenomenon has already broken the absolute record for weeks at the top of the ATP ranking.
In a recent interview with the portal ‘We Love Tennis’, Nicolas Mahut expressed his opinion on the GOAT question.
Mahut on the GOAT debate
“We are entering a very sensitive subject because we must first see the definition of GOAT: what it represents, according to the file, it is obvious that Novak Djokovic would be (the GOAT) if he was not. not already, ”said Nicolas Mahut.
“If we just look at the pure stats, he has more weeks as a number 1, he will have the most Slams or at least be tied. The face to face with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is positive against both. If we look at the numbers and statistics, obviously in terms of records, Djokovic would be the biggest. ”
The 39-year-old believes that Djokovic will never be able to dethrone Federer in this particular aspect. “Is it just that? I think there is also an element of emotion, of subjectivity on this subject, ”added Mahut. “When it comes to tennis – the biggest – there is emotion that kicks in and inevitably the impact that Roger has had on tennis will be greater than that of Novak no matter what. . ”
Nicolas Mahut cited the example of legendary golfers Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus to explain how the tallest is not always the player with the best numbers. “Like in golf, for example, Tiger Woods had more of an impact than Nicklaus,” Mahut explained. “Yet Jack Nicklaus has a better record than him.”
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