Novak Djokovic is the Greatest Men's Tennis Player of All Time (GOAT)

Dear Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal fans,

Remember all the years you spent debating, sharing articles, ravaging through statistics and even getting emotionally involved to prove that your guy is the GOAT of men's tennis....That was time well spent.

Not as beloved as Roger or Rafa, a certain player named Novak Djokovic has proved, undoubtedly, that he is The Greatest Men's Tennis Player of All Time. 

There is no logical argument to prove otherwise. 

THE STATISTICS 

                                           Novak             Roger            Nadal

 Grand Slams                       20                    20                  20

ATP Masters 1000               36                    28                 36

Ending year ranked #1.        6                      5                    5

Won every Slam twice         Yes                  No                 No

Weeks ranked #1                328*                310               209

It isn't just about the Grand Slams. Novak is the only player to have Two Career Golden Masters- (Win all 9 Masters titles over a career). 

In short, he is the only player to have won - all four grand slams, all nine ATP Masters and the ATP finals. If that wasn't enough he has gone ahead and won each of these tournaments at least twice. 

Here is the best part- he isn't done yet. 

I could continue dropping facts on how he has separated himself from Roger and Rafa but why oversell it? If you are still not convinced, then it is emotion. You can check out some of Novak's "only player to ever" records here. 

HEAD TO HEAD

GOAT debates in sports are often tainted because quite often the athletes being compared don't play in the same era. 

In this case Novak has played Rafa 58 times and Roger 50 times. These are the two most played rivalries in the open era of tennis. Yes, you read that right, no rivals have played against each other more. 

Roger and Rafa have played one another 40 times. 

Novak - Rafa (58 matches) Novak leads Rafa 30-28, he leads 15-13 in finals and 10-7 in Grand Slams matches.  

Novak - Roger (50 matches) Novak leads Roger 27-23, he leads 13-6 in finals and 11-6 in Grand Slam matches.

Is it Only About Wins and Losses?

You may argue that being the GOAT is not only about statistics and a case can be made to add other factors. Has the player changed the way the game is played? Or have they made an impact on the sport that no other individual has?  

An example here would be Tiger Woods in Golf. His impact on the game was so much that they had to "Tiger Proof" courses. It is because of Tiger, the design of golf courses changed. Tiger's impact on the viewership and growth of Golf is probably the greatest by any athlete in any sport. 

What about the Big Three in Tennis? 

Neither of the three players, 'individually', had that significant level of an impact. Did they change the game? No. Did they significantly raise the level? Yes, but it wasn't any one of them, it was all of them. 

Did either one of them, 'individually', change viewership or grow the game significantly enough for it to matter in the GOAT debate? No. Again, the three of them had some level of impact but not individually so as to separate one from the other.

In this debate, it boils down to the numbers.

I have no doubt that some of you will probably find some data points that say- Roger did this but Novak hasn't. Or Rafa has done something that no one ever has. Well, whatever helps you sleep at night. 

So when you are sitting and debating, you can still argue who is greater, Roger or Rafa. You can talk about the grace of Federer and the grit of Nadal. But you can no longer argue about the GOAT. That title firmly and exclusively belongs to Novak Djokovic. 

End of Debate

Photo Credit https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/tennis/roger-federer-vs-novak-djokovic-wimbledon-2019-final-5829162/