A record 23 grand slam titles already to his name, Novak Djokovic is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. On course for a record-equaling 8th Wimbledon crown, Djokovic has firmly established himself as one of the foremost contenders for the greatest tennis player of all time tag. But when it comes to a topic as vague and controversial as picking the greatest player of all time, fans often wonder how fair it is to compare between generations.
This raises a question — what if Novak Djokovic was born in a different era? Could he have been as successful as he is, or perhaps even more? How would have he fared? Journalists put forward a similar question to the Serbian himself and this is how he reacted.
Novak Djokovic reveals unique John McEnroe wish
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The Djokovic juggernaut is on full display yet again at the All England Club, with the world number 2 making his way to the semifinals after a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 victory against Russia’s Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals as he looks to win his 5th straight Wimbledon title. After his impressive quarterfinal win, some Serbian journalists, as per Tennis Majors, asked Djokovic to take a trip down memory lane and think of an era from the past that he would have loved to be a part of. “I would probably get into an argument with McEnroe.. Yes, we?ve all thought about it, we all compare ourselves to the champions of the past. Many of these champions are still very active in our sport ? McEnroe, Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl et cetera. I know Boris really well and we often spoke about these topics and how he sees today?s tennis compared to his era,??he quirkily replied.
Indeed, it would have been an exciting proposition to watch Novak Djokovic and John McEnroe square off against each other in their prime, and possibly engage in some on-court squabble! The American tennis legend himself has quite a few times in the past shown his admiration for the Serb. At the time of the French Open this year, which Djokovic eventually went on to win, McEnroe was appreciative of the guts and hunger shown by Djokovic at this stage of his career.
McEnroe awed by Djokovic’s hunger to win more and more
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Seven-time grand slam champion John McEnroe has been working as a tennis commentator and pundit for a long time now. By virtue of this, he has closely followed the careers of the famous triumvirate — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. With Federer retired and Nadal out due to injury, Djokovic is still continuing his dominance on the court as he clinched a record-breaking 23rd grand slam at Roland Garros this year.
Watching his impressive performances on the clay major, McEnroe couldn’t hide his admiration for the 36-year-old. He praised Djokovic’s guts, determination and incredible hunger to add more grand slams to his name, even at this stage of his career.
By wishing to transport back in time and face McEnroe himself, Djokovic showed that the respect and admiration are mutual! Certainly, every tennis fan would have loved to see a high-voltage grand slam final between a charged-up John McEnroe and an aggressive Novak Djokovic — sparks would have flown, to be sure!
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