Everyone has their personal take on athletes, be it naming the greatest between Michael Jordan, LeBron James or Larry Bird in the NBA or making a choice between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Tennis being an individual sport, determining the best might just be a little more objective than doing so for athletes from a team sport; one could simply take statistics and trophies as the benchmark in doing so. But sports are more than that. They are about emotions and personalities that leave us with lifelong memories.
Novak Djokovic may have achieved unprecedent success in tennis, but for many he remains the killjoy who spoiled the party that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were hosting. For the 1983 men’s French Open champion Yannick Noah, it’s simply a matter of his preference regarding the three different personalities. While he reveals Rafael Nadal as his favorite and labels Roger Federer as an artist amongst the Big Three, Noah admits he doesn’t “connect” with Novak Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic lacking in charisma?
Yannick Noah won the French Open in 1983 and managed to reach the World No. 3 spot at the height of his powers. Naturally, he has his own take on the most illustrious trio of the sport that he loved so dearly. While former players may be reluctant in naming their outright favorite from amongst the Big Three, Noah is very clear on what he thinks of all three. And it isn’t a pretty read for the Serbian.
Noah believes Djokovic does not have the same charisma as the other two, which is why he himself, and probably others, struggle to connect with him as they do with Federer and Nadal.
“Djokovic? I’m not sorry, but I don’t know why. The other two have more charisma. I’m not attracted to him. When he wins a match point I don’t connect with him. I live in the Montmartre neighborhood, I’m walking and someone says to me: ‘Hey, Yannick, Do you want to have a coffee with me?’. And I wonder why people want to connect. With Nole I don’t know if it will happen.”
While this may come across a bit harsh on the Serbian, it is simply Noah’s personal thought that he is entitled to. You won’t be hard-pressed to find opinions from other former professionals that counter this particular take.
Noah’s remarks on Federer and Nadal are gentler, calling the retired Swiss player “an artist” and Rafa his favorite for being such a respectful and humble person. But he does not look at the Big Three’s domination in the sport very favorably.
“For fifteen years we had three of the ten best players of all time. But as a spectator I was less interested because the game was the same, the finals were the same, they were always the same protagonists. The emotion was always the same. And when I go to see a show, the only thing that interests me is the emotion, the atmosphere. I didn’t feel that emotion during many of those games.”
In the same vein, Noah is hopeful of a more distributed domination in tennis in the coming years. And while he hasn’t watched much of Carlos Alcaraz, he does label him “mini Nadal”.
Will Carlos Alcaraz spoil the party for Djokovic?
With the French Open 2023 set to begin on soon, it is possibly Novak Djokovic’s last opportunity to capture the clay Major what with the absence of the king Rafa Nadal. Lifting the La Coupe des Mousquetaires for the third time would mean Djokovic breaks away from Nadal and becomes the outright holder of the record for most number of men’s singles Grand Slam titles. But it won;t be an easy feat to pull off even without his greatest rival.
With the meteoric rise of Carlos Alcaraz, or mini Nadal as Noah likes to call him, the Serbian has his work cut out for him. Apart from a few hiccups and an injury lay-off, Alcaraz has looked solid in the last couple of years, announcing himself staunchly by lifting the US Open last year. And given his clay court preference similar to Nadal, he might just add to his Majors tally at Roland Garros.
Beating either of the Big Three is never easy of course but Alcaraz certainly does have the talent, skill, mentality and drive to do so. A possible advantage for Alcaraz could be the fact that the two will meet in the semi final if they make it to that stage. Without the added pressure of a Grand Slam final, Carlos may just pip Nole to the final, meaning Djokovic will then have to look at Wimbledon to capture his 23rd Major.
