Boris Becker doubts Novak Djokovic will be surpassed
Boris Becker doubts that any player will be able to haul in some of the incredible records held by Novak Djokovic, particularly his incredible tally of weeks at No 1.
Becker admitted that he also thought that nobody would ever surpass his compatriot Steffi Graf as the longest-reigning top player.
He said that while he would have liked a German to remain in possession of the record, his close friendship with Djokovic makes him feel that it is not so bad to see it go elsewhere.
Becker’s sentiment no doubt mirrors those of the multi-national army of fans that follow the every move of the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
“It’s an unbelievable achievement,” Becker told Eurosport. “I never thought this record could be broken.
“As a fellow German I would have wished for Steffi Graf to be the all-time leader, but being a close friend of Novak as well, I am not too unhappy either.
Becker believes that Djokovic will nowe extend the record out to a tally that will take some beating.
He feels that Djokovic is a great champion and a worthy face of the sport in the 21st century.
“Novak is a fantastic guy and a great champion,” he added. “Records are meant to be broken. Sooner or later all records will be broken, but this is one for the tennis history books.
“And guess what, it’s still counting. I think Novak will be number one for a few weeks more before somebody will take his crown.”
Becker worked as a member of Djokovic’s coaching team for a spell but says that their relationship now is that of family, cemented by the support he was offered by the Serbian while in prison.
He said: “Novak Djokovic became a family member. You know we had a professional relationship for many years and we parted ways in 2016.
“But we always stayed close and especially my time inside (prison) – while I was inside, Novak supported me, he supported my family. I started crying when he started winning.
“‘I’m very proud that probably the greatest player of all time is part of a story of Boris Becker,’ he said.
Becker said that the grind of being a top tennis professional is not something that can be overstated, which makes staying on top for sustained periods an incredible achievement.
“Life as a tennis winning machine, it’s a lot harder than it looks,” he said.
“We travel every week to another city, another country, another continent and then we have to function. Every player has a different way of dealing with these expectations, these pressures and always trying to win.”
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