Novak Djokovic refused to call himself the greatest of all time when asked ahead of the 2023 Paris Masters, the last ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season.
Rafael Nadal and the 24-time Grand Slam champion are arguably two of the biggest rivals in the history of the sport, also because their fight for greatness continues after Roger Federer's retirement.
The two have said many things about each other, and while they may disagree on some things, one thing is clear, and that's the respect between them. That's also why Nadal had no problem calling Djokovic the greatest in history because of his numbers.
Numbers can't be denied, and in fact, no one has achieved more in tennis than the Serbian did. He spent the most weeks as the world no. 1, he won the most Grand Slam titles, and he holds multiple other records. Yet, he refuses to call himself the greatest player of all time.
"No, I'm not going to say I am the greatest player of all times. It's not up to me to say things like that. I leave it up to others. Obviously I'm very proud that my greatest rival could say such things, but I leave this discussion to other people."
Djokovic, on the other hand, wants to write his own history, and he doesn't want to be compared to others. He wants to be as great as he can possibly be, and talk about his career once it's over.
"I'm honored to be a tennis player who's writing my own name in the history of tennis, and I'm glad to be at the top right now. That's the most important thing for me."
"Then we can discuss at length about the whole history of tennis, but once my career is over we can do it. Right now I guess this is very interesting for you, for everyone, all of you who follow tennis."
But even despite all of the talks, the 'GOAT debate,' as it's often referred to, is not concerning Djokovic too much, and he stays focused on what matters the most, and that's currently his performance on the tennis court.
"But as far as I'm concerned, that's not a priority for me. I need to maintain, to focus myself on what is important for me right now."
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