Eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi showered praise for the Big Three thanks to their inedible mark on the sport of tennis.
The famed trio of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic are considered among the greatest tennis players in history. They have amassed a combined 66 Grand Slams between them.
They are often referred to as the benchmark when it comes to records, accomplishments, mentality, and even style. Agassi had the privilege of playing against Federer and Nadal during his career, but not Djokovic.
After Federer and Nadal enjoyed an unrivaled duopoly of men's tennis in the late noughties, Djokovic stepped in at the start of 2011 and broke their hegemony. With 24 Grand Slam titles to his name, the Serb is now considered, statistically, the greatest player of all time.
In an interview with The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, Agassi admits the numbers don't lie as they offer a true reflection of Djokovic's extraordinary career.
Besides just Grand Slams, Djokovic owns almost every metric that gives him bragging rights to proclaim himself as the GOAT, although he refrains from doing so.
"You can’t argue with the stats that Novak (Djokovic) has put on the board for crying out loud. From the slams … to the number of weeks of No.1 – there’s so many stats that he (is) just kind of is redefining, you know."
The legendary American, however, noted that it is disputable not to thrust Federer's and Nadal's names in the same conversation. Still, he believes tennis as a sport is the overall winner because it benefits from having all three in the same, and each offered a unique trait.
"(But) how do you leave … Federer out of that conversation and how do you leave (acknowledge) the elegance in which Federer did what he did. (And) with Rafa...I don’t know if tennis has ever seen somebody who competes like that."
"For me, it’s like what has got me on paper is one thing, but who’s who’s really benefited the game? I think the game has benefited dramatically from all of them. Absolutely."
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