Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer retired from the sport in 2022, playing for nearly two decades on the ATP Tour as a professional. Having won 20 Grand Slams among his staggering 103 Championship titles, Federer is renowned as someone who changed the face of tennis and transcending it in a large way. It is no surprise that till date, lovers of the game have discussions about who is the ultimate ‘GOAT’ or the greatest of all-time, considering Roger Federer’s remarkable rivalries with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic for the majority of his career. And now, it is Federer’s former coach, Croatian Ivan Ljubicic who has a rather fascinating take on the debate.
The former World No. 3 mentioned all three members of the Big Three, giving each of them their due credit. Moreover, he also compared the GOAT debate in tennis to the same in other sports like soccer and NBA, even bringing up the likes of NBA great Michael Jordan while making his point.
Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic? Ivan Ljubicic analyses the duo
Ivan Ljubicic had the privilege of working with Roger Federer, being his coach from 2016 till his retirement. Ljubicic, who was himself known to have one of the most effective and fastest serves on the ATP Tour as a player, was credited for reviving Federer’s fledging career. Under his mentorship, Federer won the Australian Open in 2017 and 2018 as well as the Wimbledon 2017 Championships, something unheard of back then that a men’s singles player could win Grand Slams after turning 35.
While Federer recently took himself out of the ‘GOAT debate’ and could not pick between Nadal and Djokovic, Ljubicic was full of praise for his ex-pupil, indirectly comparing him with basketball legend, Michael Jordan in a recent interview with Sport Klub. He was quoted as saying,
“The word ‘greatest’ implies subjectivity and personal preference. I think that’s good, to be honest – everybody has a preferred GOAT and let the discussion begin. If we look at other sports, for example is there a (definitive) GOAT in football. In basketball everybody agrees that it’s Michael Jordan, but he’s not the one with the most trophies. It’s someone that influenced you personally mostly: for a third of the world it’s Federer, for the other third of the world it’s (Rafael) Nadal and for the final third it’s Novak (Djokovic).”
However, Ljubicic might shock a lot of Federer enthusiasts, because he was quick to point out that Djokovic’s recent feat of winning a record 23rd Grand Slam title and his current form could end the GOAT debate for good in the tennis community.
“I feel that Novak is the most successful already, if Novak ends up having five to ten more (Grand Slams) than the others, we won’t have conversations like this anymore”.
Djokovic vs Federer: A battle for records
The duo’s rivalry was one of the most significant in men’s tennis till Federer called it quits, having played in exactly 50 matches against each other. Djokovic leads 27-23, mastering Federer notably on his favorite court, grass by 3-1 as well as on his own favorite court, hard by 20-18. The World No.1 is one of the only two players (alongside Rafael Nadal) to not just beat Federer in all Grand Slam tournaments atleast once, but also winning in straight sets against him in all of them. On clay however, Federer and Djokovic are tied at 4-4.
At 94, Novak Djokovic is now only 9 ATP titles behind Roger Federer as he aims to equal 2 major records of his at the upcoming Wimbledon 2023 Championships – 1) Winning the Grand Slam 5 consecutive times like Federer did from 2003-2007, 2) Winning the Slam 8 times. Co-incidentally, Federer’s last Grand Slam final appearance was in 2019 and it was at Wimbledon, where Djokovic clinched a five-set thriller in what remains the longest Wimbledon men’s singles final ever played. Post that encounter, the Serbian has hardly been challenged on Centre Court and that could continue this year should he remain injury-free.
