A new era of tennis has arrived. While Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz emerged as the new leaders of the ATP Tour, new stars such as Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik are quickly making their way in the rankings. Mensik is coming from winning his first Masters 1000 title in Miami, and he openly acknowledged who is his favorite player in the GOAT debate.
After beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the final, he revealed that the Serbian star was his inspiration, and called him the greatest of all time. “Novak, everyone knows you’re the reason I’m here,” he told him during the trophy ceremony. “I watched you growing up. I started playing tennis because of you. There is no harder task for a tennis player than to beat you in the final. You’re incredible. The greatest of all time.”
Djokovic also had some words for the 19-year-old Czech, who has reached a new career high of No. 24 in the ATP rankings. “Never really happy to lose, but he’s one of the very few players that I would be happier to lose to, to be honest,” Djokovic said.
He added, “I have seen him play when he was 15 or 16 and invited him, we had some training blocks together. He was training at my club in Belgrade, and to see his development and evolution is really great, amazing.”
It’s not the first time that the 24-time Grand Slam champion has praised Mensik, as he also mentioned him as one of the players to watch at the start of the tournament. So, it’s clear that there’s mutual respect between them.
Djokovic’s career highlights: The best of all time?
It’s hard to argue against Djokovic’s claim as the greatest tennis player of all time. At least on the men’s side, he holds the most titles and records. Not only has he won 24 Grand Slam titles, an Open Era record, but he also owns a record 40 Masters 1000 titles. Additionally, he leads with 428 weeks as World No. 1, and in 2024, he completed the Golden Slam by winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
SURVEY Is Novak Djokovic the greatest player of all time?
Is Novak Djokovic the greatest player of all time?
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In Miami, despite not winning, Djokovic matched Roger Federer’s record of reaching at least one ATP Tour final for 20 consecutive seasons. He also holds the record for the most Grand Slam match wins with 382, surpassing Federer’s previous mark of 369. As long as he keeps playing, the Serbian can keep adding more arguments to his case.