Djokovic Dismisses ‘GOAT’ Tag Despite 23rd Grand Slam Win

| by Kadir Macar

Novak Djokovic created history at this year's Roland Garros quite possibly ending the GOAT race but he dismissed the tag.

The GOAT race is a topic that will never go away because it's just the easiest topic to argue about in tennis. If you've lived long enough you know that people like to argue, especially about things that really don't matter.

Being the greatest player of all time in reality doesn't matter but it's a nice thing to have on your resume. Djokovic often spoke about not being obsessed with it focusing mostly on achieving as much as he can and leaving it to others and it's the way it should be. He achieved a lot at this year's event.

He tied the record for the most Grand Slam finals and broke another one replacing Federer no less. He broke a few more like becoming the only male player to win all four grand slams three times; becoming the first male player to win 23 grand slams.

It's more than an iconic resume, it's borderline superhuman and it's certainly GOAT-worthy. Whether he is your GOAT or not remains highly subjective for any tennis fan but he will always remain one of the best ever.

Ever-classy, Djokovic declined to call himself the GOAT out of respect for all the champions that came before him. GOAT to be or not to be, that is not the question. Not anymore.

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I mean, I don't want to say that I am the greatest, because I feel, I've said it before, it's disrespectful towards all the great champions in different eras of our sport. So I feel like each great champion of his own generation has left a huge mark, a legacy, and paved the way for us to be able to play this sport in such a great stage worldwide.

Despite not being too concerned with all of that, Djokovic still has hunger, still has a desire to win. It's just the competitive nature that got him to his stage and he's excited for Wimbledon already. 20 years in and the excitement is not evaporating at all.

So I still feel motivated, I still feel inspired to play the best tennis on these tournaments the most, you know, Grand Slams. Those are the ones that count I guess the most in history of our sport. I look forward already to Wimbledon.

Hitting 24 would certainly be even more impressive as it's only been done once before - by Margaret Court. Her outspoken nature and controversial stances haven't made her a popular figure in the tennis world and some tennis fans wouldn't mind seeing her replaced as the player with the most grand slams in the history of the sport.

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