Novak Djokovic won’t call himself the GOAT
Novak Djokovic wouldn’t be drawn into labelling himself as the greatest of all time as he insisted he would leave the job to the journalists.
Djokovic was asked about where he esteemed himself, considering his big tournaments record that suggests he is at least the statistical GOAT.
The Serbian was asked to respond to Rafael Nadal calling him the greatest in Paris, but wouldn’t take the bait.
“No, I’m not going to say I am the greatest player of all time,” Djokovic said.
“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.
“I’m honoured 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 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.”
Djokovic has enjoyed his time away from tennis as he has been enjoying holidays with his wife and children since winning the US Open.
He revealed that he used his free time to hit the fairways and keep up with Belgrade club basketball.
“It was wonderful to be with my family, especially with my wife, my children,” Djokovic said.
“I did try to use my free time to play golf, to follow other sports, as well. I’m a big fan of basketball. So I followed all the Belgrade club matches. As far as golf is concerned, I’m not at the same level as tennis, definitely (smiling).
“But I made most of my free time, I have to say. I made sure to have some quality time with my family. Over the last three weeks I have practiced a lot, I have done a lot of physical preparation to make sure that I was ready for the end of the season.
“But the work that we have done over the last month was aiming at making me more precise, more accurate, because I knew that I didn’t have so much time afterwards for the end of the season. So I’m quite satisfied with all these weeks of free time that I spent.
“But tennis, I’m missing tennis, you know. I’m missing competitions, as well. Especially here in Paris. I can feel the support. And I think that I can deliver here.”
Djokovic was seen in the stands at the Stade De France as South Africa won the Rugby World Cup on Saturday evening.
He will start his Paris Masters campaign against the winner of the first round clash between compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic and Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
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