Tennis legend on Novak Djokovic breaking his record – ‘What the f***, records are made to be broken’
Novak Djokovic remains on course to claim yet another tennis record and the man whose record he could break in the next year or so would be the first to shake his hand and say “good on you”.
Djokovic continues to chip away at Jimmy Connors’ all-time record for most singles titles won during the Open Era as the American sits on 109 trophies.
24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic is in third place and he now finds himself six behind Roger Federer in second spot after he won his 97th title when he defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the Paris Masters final last Sunday.
For many it is more a case of if not when Djokovic will break the all-time record and Connors himself feels when the Serbian gets the milestone it could take another 100 years before it is broken again.
Speaking on the Advantage Connors podcast, the tennis great said: “I’ve had a good run. I don’t know what it is, the number, you know, 109 has stood. And if somebody’s going to come up and beat that, God damn, good luck to him!
“I finished a long time ago, 35 years ago with 109 [titles], it has stood a long time and if somebody passes me, you better be pretty freaking good, you know? And if that happens, on you go.
“My 109 has [potentially] taken 40 years to beat. How long is it going to take to pass him? It might be a hundred years.
“Nobody is stepping up to win eight, 10 tournaments a year. Nobody is doing that, not even [Carlos] Alcaraz. To reach that number, you have to win seven, eight tournaments every year. Maybe when Djokovic is gone it will be Alcaraz who starts doing that.
“To break that record you have to have one year along the line where you win 10, 12, 15 tournaments.”
READ MORE: Top 10 men’s title winners in Open Era: Novak Djokovic wins 97th trophy as he moves closer to Roger Federer
Former world No 1 Connors is a fan of “old-schooler” Djokovic and added that he would be happy if the Serbian passes his record.
The American continued: “I’m a Djoker fan. I am because I like the way he plays, he takes the ball early, he’s kind of an old-schooler. The way he plays and gets in there and tries to be aggressive on their returns and move forward and so forth. I like that because he’s an old-schooler.
“And for him, go far it. If you play another two or three years or whatever and bypass me. Do I like the record? Yeah, but what the f***, records are made to be broken, right? And if somebody comes up and does it, go for it. Good on you.”
