If we base it on another criterion, it's completely subjective, it doesn't mean anything anymore," Mouratoglou unfiltered on the GOAT debate

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Arthur Millot

le 16/06/2025 à 11h06

2 min to read

Djokovic Federer Nadal Osaka

In an interview with Eurosport, Naomi Osaka's coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, candidly addressed the debate over the greatest tennis player of all time. According to him, there’s no room for discussion—Djokovic is ahead of Federer and Nadal:

"There’s no debate, it’s a fake debate. When you look at the three greatest, whether it’s pleasing or not, one of the three is the greatest of all. He’s been world No. 1 longer, he’s won more Grand Slams, more Masters 1000s, he beats them everywhere—it’s Novak. When you look at the three, two of them were already dominating when Novak arrived. Everyone said they were unbeatable.

Novak arrived with a very average level of play, and even today, at the end of his career, when you look at Rafa’s game, Roger’s game, and Novak’s game, it’s incredible that Novak is the strongest of the three, the one who broke all the records. It just goes to show that the most important thing isn’t just tennis. I know it bothers some people when we talk about mindset, mentality, but it’s by far the most important thing.

Yes, numbers don’t tell the whole story, and maybe in 50 years, we’ll say Federer left an infinitely greater legacy than Novak—maybe. But the fact remains, when we have to name the greatest player of all time, we have to base it on achievements. If we base it on another criterion, it’s completely subjective, it doesn’t mean anything anymore. And in what other sport would this topic even come up? Track and field? Impossible.