Talk of the GOAT in tennis has died down a bit lately, especially after Novak Djokovic managed to break a string of men’s tennis records and close the gap on Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Novak DjokovicPhoto: Marco Canoniero / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

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Djokovic has never been a role model on the tennis court, says Younes El-Ainaoui

However, the Serbian is not seen as the GOAT (not the best of all time) by everyone involved in this phenomenon.

Younes El-Ainaoui (a former world number one player in the early 2000s) explains why Djokovic will never rise to the level of his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The Moroccan (ranked 14th in the ATP rankings in March 2003) says that results are very important, but people really appreciate the behavior of their idols on the court, especially when they are defeated.

This is one of the possible explanations for why the Swiss and Iberians are so loved all over the world.

El-Ainaoui believes that in this regard, Nole will never rise to the level of Roger and Rafa. They have been role models for both tennis fans and kids aspiring to play the white sport.

“For me, it’s not just tennis and numbers, statistics, you also have to look at how a person or how they experience defeat.

In that respect, Rafa is number one, I have never seen him do anything strange on the court when he was losing.

So, on paper, Novak increasingly distances himself from his rivals, continues to add titles. But then we have to evaluate the behavior and the person, in this sense for me Rafa and Roger are at the top. This is a personal opinion,” said the 52-year-old Moroccan.

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But if we return to the level of results, the 36-year-old Joker currently holds the most important records in men’s tennis.

1st place in the ATP at the end of the season

1 Novak Djokovic 8

2 Pete Sampras 6

3 Roger Federer / Jimmy Connors / Rafael Nadal 5 etc.

Ranking of Grand Slam titles

1 Novak Djokovic 24

2 Rafael Nadal 22

3 Roger Federer 20 (retired)

Ranking of Masters tournaments

1 Novak Djokovic 39

2 Rafael Nadal 36

3 Roger Federer 28 (retired)

Weeks under #1 ATP

1 Novak Djokovic 401

2 Roger Federer 301

3 Pete Sampras 286 etc.

Tournament of Champions, most titles

1 Novak Djokovic 7 (2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2023)

2 Roger Federer 6 (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011)

3 Ivan Lendl 5 (1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987)

3 Pete Sampras 5 (1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999)

5 Ilye Nastase 4 (1971, 1972, 1973, 1975), etc.

  • At the age of 36, Novak Djokovic has had a fantastic season, winning 3 out of 4 Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, Roland Garros, US Open).
  • He also won tournaments: ATP Finals, Paris Masters, Cincinnati Masters and Adelaide 1. Tennis awards this season brought Nole (so far) $15,936,097.
  • Nole will finish 2023 with 52 wins and only 5 losses.

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