Grand Slams: Tennis veteran Roger Federer believes Novak Djokovic will continue to win majors after becoming the most decorated men’s player in Grand Slam history.
Federer was the first of the current ‘big three’ to fully push the standard of elite tennis, winning 16 of his majors by January 2010 when he won his fourth Australia Open, whilst Rafael Nadal’s 22 wins have been accumulated mostly in Paris, with 14 titles from 18 appearances.
Djokovic has already eclipsed both players in terms of statistics, and with Nadal, 37, suffering an injury and due to miss the remainder of the season, it appears that Djokovic’s durability and all-around brilliance will cement him as the consensus best of all time.
Djokovic is currently a heavy favourite at Wimbledon, where he is seeking to tie Federer’s record of eight titles, and the Swiss legend admits the world No. 1 will maintain his supremacy.
“I thought what Novak did was incredible,” Federer said. “Honestly, it’s great for tennis, great for sports, when tennis creates and adds to its own history, as we’ve seen with Serena Williams, Rafa, myself, and now Novak.
“It’s an exciting time to be both a tennis fan and a player.
“When I first came on tour and Pete Sampras reached 14, we thought, ‘OK, that one’s gonna stay forever. Then I went to 15, finally ending up at 17, and then we pushed each other to 20 – I forget who was first – then Rafa pushed it to 22.
“Then Novak pushed it to 23, and he looks like he’ll keep doing that for a long time to come, which is fantastic.” And I wish him the best of luck.
“I think it’s also the way he’s still doing it – he’s not the youngest anymore, we forget. He appears young and performs in a youthful manner, but it is not simple, and I felt it was an incredible triumph. So I couldn’t have been happier.”
Meanwhile, Nadal used the occasion to congratulate Djokovic on his victory at Roland Garros last weekend.
“First and foremost, I want to congratulate Novak Djokovic on accomplishing something that would not have seemed possible in men’s tennis previously. To achieve 23 Grand Slam titles, these are numbers that would have seemed impossible to achieve a few years ago,” said the Spaniard, who is rehabilitating from a nagging hip ailment that has kept him out since January.
“Many congratulations to Novak from here, from myself and the entire academy, for accomplishing something so difficult in such a competitive sport as tennis.”
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