Former world No.4 Richard Krajicek has weighted into the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) debate by saying that he believes Novak Djokovic is ahead of his rivals.
In recent years the landscape of men’s tennis has been dominated by the Big Four. A nickname for the group featuring Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. There has been numerous arguments concerning who in the quartet is the best, with all players having strong cases. Nevertheless, 1996 Wimbledon champion Kracijek believes Djokovic is the best player when comparing them all at their best form.
“When you look at the results and length of his career, you say Roger. But when they play at their best each other, Djokovic is the better player and he wins most of the times,” Krajicek told Tennis World USA.
Djokovic has ended his season as world No.1 for the fifth time in his career. Becoming the oldest player in the history of the ATP Tour to do so at the age of 31. Against the other players currently ranked in the world’s top 20, he has a winning head-to-head record against 15 of them. The only top 20 player he has a negative record against is Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, who he lost to in their first meeting earlier this year at the Rogers Cup.
“He is unbeatable in the level of tennis. Novak had two or three amazing years. Federer played for 20 years at the top, his consistency is incredible. But Novak has won four Grand Slams in a row, which Federer and Nadal have not done.” Explained Krajicek.
The are of course counter arguments to Kracijek’s opinion. Roger Federer has won a record 20 grand slam titles in the singles, bringing his overall ATP record to 99. The second highest in history after Jimmy Connors. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal has won more clay court titles than any other player in the Open Era and is the only person to have won the same major 11 times at the French Open.
Kracijek retired from tennis in 2003 after claiming 17 ATP titles. Since then, he has remained involved in tennis through numerous activities. One of the most prominent of those being the tournament director of the Rotterdam Open for the past 14 years. An ATP 500 event that takes place every February.
Asked if Djokovic would be playing at the event in 2019, the Dutchman left the door open for the world No.1 to join the field. Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori and Nick Kyrgios have already confirmed their intention to play there.
“We would like to have him as a world No. 1. It’s a tournament that doesn’t fit in his schedule. He is winning basically everything and we will always keep trying. If he wants to play Rotterdam, the doors are open,” he said.
Djokovic has only played at Rotterdam three times with the last occurring back in 2010.
