Screenshot of foreign media reports
On December 17, Beijing time, according to Tennishead, Spanish analyst and former French Open runner-up Alex Craitga believed that the "misunderstood" Novak Djokovic "deserved all the praise because he gave so much on and off the pitch. ”
In 2021, the current world number one won 3 of the four Grand Slams and finished first for the 7th time, breaking the record held by American tennis legend Pete Sampras (6 times).
In addition, the Serbian is the youngest of the Big Three and enjoys an injury-free season, unlike Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, who missed the second half of the ATP Tour due to injury.
So even the "King of Clay" admits that Djokovic has a good chance of outpacing himself and Federer in that competition for the "greatest men's tennis player of all time."
Federer Infographic
The next Grand Slam event is the upcoming Australian Open 2022 in January. Federer will definitely miss the Happy Slam and will likely miss Wimbledon as he recovers from knee surgery, while Nadal is also recovering from injury and the schedule will depend on the next warm-up.
As for Djokovic, whether he can participate in the upcoming Australian Open is also doubtful – because a senior Australian government official said that athletes who want to enter the competition must be vaccinated with the new crown virus twice, otherwise they will be banned from entering the country, and players participating in the Australian Open will probably not receive any exemptions. The Serb has not yet made public his COVID-19 vaccinations. However, the current world number one is still selected for the ATP Cup Serbia squad and the Australian Open entry list.
Kreitga told Eurosport that he believes Djokovic will be "remembered because he will most likely be the best ever". (he thinks Djokovic will “be remembered because he will probably be the greatest.)
Nadal infographic
"I think, in a way, Novak has been a little bit misunderstood. I don't know if it's because of his character. Most likely, when he was on the pitch, he was doing things that people hardly understood. The Spaniard said.
"Roger is elegant. He's like, sweet. Everything was natural. And Rafa, like, is probably the greatest fighter in all of history. Novak is different. He can get upset. ”
"He didn't think like this — 'Oh, I can't break the racket because I'm in front of 25,000 people and millions of people who are watching TV.'" He will only vent his emotions. ”
"He deserves all the praise because for me he gave us so much, both on and off the pitch, and I can only say 'thank you' to him, just like (to) Roger and Rafa, for all that they have brought to our sport."