‘My favourite has always been Roger Federer, but Novak Djokovic will end up winning more’

Roger Federer on the run

Lorenzo Musetti has made no secret of the fact that he is a big Roger Federer fan, but he acknowledges that Novak Djokovic is likely to “end up winning the most”.

The debate around the greatest tennis player of all time (GOAT) remains a hot topic in tennis and the Big Three Federer, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have led the way over the past two decades.

Federer – who retired last year – was initially at the forefront of the conversation as he was the first man to 20 Grand Slams, but he has been overtaken by Djokovic and Nadal with the Serbian and Spaniard now on 22 majors each.

Although Federer is third in terms of Slams won, there are many who still believe he is the greatest and world No 18 Musetti was asked by Spain’s Marca for his views on the GOAT and replied: “My favourite has always been Federer for his elegance.

“If the question is about who will end up winning the most, I would say Djokovic. He is in good shape and I think he will win a few more Grand Slam titles.”

With Federer’s playing days behind him and Nadal and Djokovic also on the wrong side of 30, the tennis community is looking towards the future and many believe reigning US Open champion and current world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz will lead the sport over the coming years.

Musetti defeated Alcaraz in their only previous match in the Hamburg final last year, but the Italian speaks highly of the 20-year-old.

“He is a unique player because of his talent. What he has achieved in the last two seasons is admirable and I am happy for him,” he said.

“I can say that I beat him in Hamburg in one of my best matches. Hopefully we can meet many more times. I wish Carlos the best because he is a friend both on and off the track. He is a worker and he deserves to be where he is.”

Musetti and Alcaraz could meet in the fourth round at Roland Garros this year, but the Italian will have to get the batter of 14th seed Cameron Norrie on Friday while the Spaniard takes on 26th seed Denis Shapovalov.

But what sets Alcaraz apart from Musetti?

“I believe that what sets us apart is its consistency, the regularity of its results,” the Italian added. “That is what, without a doubt, I lack and I work on it. Alcaraz wins many times without playing 100 percent, which is why his percentage of games won is high. It is the big difference between his ranking and mine.”

Latest