Some sports have a definitive Greatest of All Time, but when it comes to tennis, the debate stops at Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic.
For a good reason, the third name is making a louder noise these days. Djokovic surpassed Rafael Nadal for most Grand Slam wins with 23 after winning the 2023 French Open.
Has he earned the right to be called the sport's GOAT?
Roger Federer's ex-coach Ivan Ljubicic said he thinks the GOAT debate "will be meaningless" if Djokovic can separate himself from Nadal.
"If Novak wins a few more Slams - which seems likely at this point - then the debate becomes meaningless," the Croatian mentor said in an interview with the YouTube channel Sport Klub.
"If Novak ends up having five to ten more than the others, we won't have conversations like this anymore."
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Ljubicic, though, recognized that the meaning of GOAT, as in any sport, is subjective.
"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 Nadal and for the final third it's Novak," he explained.
Djokovic will come for more Grand Slams
The Serbian tennis star got the record clincher at the French Open this month.
He celebrated the record-breaking Grand Slam win but insisted he was ready to win more.
"Let's see how far it takes me," he told reporters, as quoted by ATP.
"I really don't want to stop here. I don't have intention to stop here. I feel great about my tennis. I know that when I'm feeling good physically, mentally present, I have a chance to win any slam against anybody."
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