Published 01/10/2023, 1:19 PM PST
The era of the big three is nearing its closure. While we already saw the end of Roger Federer, Nadal is struggling with injuries. The only player who is going strong among these three is Novak Djokovic. Even though the Serb missed out on most part of the tour last year, he capitalized on the rest of the tournaments he played.
Going forward, he is sitting second on the list of having won the most Grand Slam titles. While Nadal is still there, former American tennis star John McEnroe believes Djokovic is more hungry to end on the top.
John McEnroe places his bet on Novak Djokovic to end on top of the ‘GOAT’ list
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After the retirement of Roger Federer, the race to end on top is between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Even though Nadal leads the chart right now, he has looked a bit off-color after his Wimbledon injury. As the world eagerly waits to see the top tennis players assemble in Australia, John McEnroe had his say on the GOAT debate. In an interview Eurosport, the former world no.1 shared his opinion regarding the best player going forward, before the start of the Australian Open.
Tennis – ATP 500 – Astana Open – National Tennis Center, Astana, Kazakhstan – October 8, 2022 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts during his semi final match against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev
“Even though these younger guys are up and coming – obviously Alcaraz is right there now and Rune is not far behind and you would hope a couple of these other guys will take their game up another level; it shouldn’t be easy for Novak and Rafa to win more, but you sure wouldn’t want to bet against it,” McEnroe said.
Further, he added, “I think Novak is particularly hungry, he’s the one that embraced, more than the other two, the idea of, ‘I want to be the GOAT, I want to hold the most Grand Slams’, so he seems to be the hungriest of the three.”
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We will have both Nadal and Djokovic in the Australian Open. It will be exciting to see how these two fare in the tournament.
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Djokovic, the favorite for the Australian Open after winning the Adelaide International
The moment Djokovic got the visa for Australia, his fans were sure of an action-packed start to the year. The Serb didn’t disappoint at all as he started the year with a bang. Djokovic clinched his 92nd ATP title and first of the year at the Adelaide International. Although the atmosphere was tense in the final and at one moment, Djokovic vented his anger out at his own support staff, the Serb recovered in time to stamp his authority once again.
It will surely boost his confidence as Djokovic enters his favorite Grand Slam event. Notably, the 35-year-old is the most successful player in the history of the tournament.
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After missing out last year, he will go with the confidence of his latest title win Down Under. Can Djokovic claim his 10th Australian Open title this year? Let us know in the comments.