Novak Djokovic is currently in the pursuit of defending his Wimbledon title. The World No.2 beat Argentina’s Pedro Cachin in straight sets in the Round of 128 on Monday and is set to take on Australia’s Jordan Thompson in the Round of 64 on Wednesday. Should Djokovic go to win the Slam, it would be his 24th overall, which would take him 2 ahead of his biggest rival, Rafael Nadal.
The ‘GOAT’ debate in men’s singles tennis refuses to die down, with many active players also having a take on the same. However, support for Djokovic seems to have risen in recent times, following his historic 23rd Grand Slam win in June at the French Open 2023. And Stanislas Wawrinka seems pretty clear in his mind who the best is.
Stan Wawrinka raises eyebrows, picks Novak Djokovic over Roger Federer
Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka, who is playing at the Wimbledon 2023 Championships as well, did not take long to pick Novak Djokovic over Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. This comes as a huge surprise since Wawrinka hails from the same country as Federer, having played on many occasions against him in singles and with him in men’s doubles events.
“Right now you just take Djokovic and that’s enough. You have the best player right now. But of course if you take those three players and you mix a bit together you have the best-ever player to ever play this game. Because by themself they already have all the record from winning everything and being at the top for more than 15 years, so of course they are way in front (of) everybody.”
Interestingly, in Grand Slams, Wawrinka is one of the few players to be at par with Djokovic, as the count is 4-4 in 8 matches they have played so far. As a result, the 38-year-old has won 3 Grand Slams of his own so far, for he was widely considered the closest alongside Andy Murray to challenge Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
On the other hand, Wawrinka has won just 1 out of his 8 Grand Slam matches against Federer and has overall, beaten him only thrice in their 26 meetings. Even against Nadal, Wawrinka has won on 3 occasions out of 20, trailing 1-2 in Grand Slams against the Spaniard.
Wimbledon 2023: Stan Wawrinka might have an interesting Round 3 clash
Stan Wawrinka is the oldest player in this year’s competition, targeting a better showing on grass, a surface he has struggled on. His best performances were in 2014 and 2015 as he made it to the quarterfinals in both those years, at a time when he was regularly in the top 10 of the ATP rankings.
Wawrinka has begun well, winning his Round of 128 match on Monday in straight sets. However, should he make it to Round of 32, he is likely to face Novak Djokovic again as per the Wimbledon draw since they are in the same quarter. This would be the first time the duo would clash at Wimbledon. If Wawrinka’s recent Grand Slam performances are taken into account, it is pertinent to note that he has not made it beyond Round of 32 in any of them since the Australian Open 2020.
Yet, Wawrinka might be the best possible challenger to Djokovic at the early stages since he has beaten him in all of their last 3 Grand Slam meetings. Additionally, with wins over top 10 players such as Casper Ruud, Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev in the last 1 year, the 3-time Grand Slam champion might fancy his chances to perhaps kick off the ‘Last Dance’ of his career in style.
