‘Tennis machine’ Novak Djokovic gets the backing of his former coach

Novak Djokovic is “very charming”, “a good guy” and “a perfectionist”, according to Boris Becker with the German saying the 22-time Grand Slam winner deserves more appreciation and respect.

Djokovic will no doubt go down as one of the all-time greats to have played tennis and there is certainly a case for him being the GOAT (greatest of all time) as he has broken numerous records and been the standard bearer for many years.

The Serbian, of course, has dominated the sport along with his great rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer over the past two decades, but while the other two members of the Big Three are generally adored by the public, tennis media and casual fan, Djokovic hasn’t always received the same love and appreciation.

Becker, though, knows the 36-year-old well as he coached Djokovic from 2013 until 2016 and he only has good things to say about the tennis legend.

“He’s actually a very outgoing, very worldly man. Sometimes he comes across as a bit of a tennis machine,” the six-time Grand Slam winner told The Guardian. “But when he’s not in his office, he is very charming. You can talk to him about business, politics, about music, and he’s a good guy.

“He’s also a real tennis historian. He understands who was there beforehand and he wants to make a mark. Which he has done. Then he’s a perfectionist, like all superstars. He wants to play the perfect match, which in his case probably happened once or twice.”

Djokovic has not had the best of build-ups to this year’s French Open as he lost early in Monte Carlo and Rome, but he can never be written off.

“Clay is not his best surface, but in the last couple of years he was able to pull it back together at the French,” Becker added. “As long as he’s healthy, and as long as he wants to play, he is always going to be one of the favourites to win a Grand Slam.”

Becker was also asked about the current state of men’s tennis as Carlos Alcaraz has returned to the top of the ATP Rankings while Daniil Medvedev is at No 2 after his success at the recent Italian Open and Djokovic now down at No 3.

With Rafael Nadal only playing a handful of games this year due to a long-standing injury and Federer retiring last year, it means the traditional Big Three is no more.

Becker was asked about the changing of the guard and he replied: “It’s already happened. Carlos Alcaraz became world No 1 after winning the US Open last year – that’s your evidence.

“There are plenty of other young players knocking on the door, including Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune. Then we have to mention the Russians – we don’t like to do so but we have to as they’re good enough.”

READ MORE: ‘Carlos Alcaraz fractionally ahead of Novak Djokovic’