‘Never Thought This Could Be Broken’ – Boris Becker Reacts to Novak Djokovic Thumping Compatriot Steffi Graf’s Impossible Record

At last, Novak Djokovic has broken the record held by the 22 Grand Slam winner, Steffi Graf. Djokovic has broken the record held by Steffi Graf, who was the No.1 in the rankings for 377 weeks. Although it was expected, considering Djokovic’s tremendous form of late, the six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker said that he never thought the record by Steffi Graf could be broken.

Djokovic surpassed Graf’s record on Monday as he prepares to make his first appearance since winning the 2023 Australian Open in January. Now the only challenge for Djokovic is the US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Becker astonished by the achievement of Novak Djokovic

Steffi Graf is often considered being the only challenger to Serena Williams’ claim for the GOAT status. Thus, by breaking her Open Era record, Djokovic has further strengthened his case to be considered the GOAT in the men’s circuit.

Boris Becker is in the unusual position of being biased towards both Graf and Djokovic–the former being his compatriot and the latter his former student. According to Eurosport, Becker resolved this dilemma by saying that he “would have wished for Steffi Graf to be the all-time leader” but he is “not too unhappy” with Djokovic’s triumph.

He said, “It’s an unbelievable achievement. I never thought this record could be broken.”

However, later in the same interview, he understood that very few records stand the test of time. Especially when there are players like the ‘Djoker’ constantly winning. Becker said, “Records are meant to be broken. Sooner or later all records will be broken, but this is one for the tennis history books.”

Read More: Steffi Graf: Story Of An Illustrious Career

Will Djokovic claim the GOAT status soon?

It is generally felt within the tennis community that the total number of majors (as well as weeks at No. 1) are the most important records in the sport. Fans of his archrivals will always question the greatness of Djokovic until he surpasses Rafael Nadal in Grand Slam titles. However, the fact that Djokovic remains No. 1 at age 35 and is gunning for more Majors shows what an impressive and relentless athlete he is.

Watch This Story: Former World Champion Boxer snubs Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal to give Novak Djokovic the Legend of Tennis Crown after his Magnificent Win at the Australian Open

Even though it was considered impossible, Djokovic has become the first player to lead the ATP Rankings for a record 378 weeks this Monday. But there is a high possibility that Djokovic might only lead for a few more weeks with Alcaraz hot on his heels. The coming months will see the endless rivalry between Nadal and Djokovic paralleled with the germinating rivalry between the Serbian legend and Alcaraz.