Former World No. 1 Boris Becker gives new verdict on the GOAT debate between Federer, Djokovic and Nadal

Boris Becker, a former World No. 1 and winner of six Grand Slams, has commented on the state of the GOAT debate, especially between Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The German legend, who previously had put the Serbian as the best player in history, has offered another perspective.

In a recent interview with El Mundo, Becker said that he thinks of the three of them as the GOATS. “I call them the three GOATs for a reason—each one has been the greatest in his own way,” he said.

“If I had to explain their historical importance, I’d say Djokovic is the most successful, Federer the most popular, and Nadal the most feared. If you had to face Rafa at Roland Garros, you knew there was nothing you could do. Beating him there has been the only true impossibility in a sport where everything is supposed to be possible,” he explained.

In that sense, he also said that their generation was the “greatest” because of them, compared to tennis in the 1990s and 1990s. “That was the greatest generation in history because it included the three GOATs. The thing is, the gap between those three and the rest was so big—they only lost to each other.”

Boris Becker (Getty Images)

He added, “In our time, there were ten players at the highest level. Some might say that what really happened is those three were so good they made the rest look worse than they were [laughs]. In any case, winning a tennis match is always hard. Extremely hard.”

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His opinion on Carlos Alcaraz

In the same interview, Becker was also asked about Carlos Alcaraz’s career. He said that he had it “very hard” due to the pressure to follow Nadal’s steps. “That’s a very hard pressure to carry because there’s only one Rafa, and there will only ever be one. That said, Carlos is making his own mark in his own way. He’s still very young and the best is yet to come, but it’s impossible to predict how long a tennis player will stay at the top,” he said.

He added: “I hope Carlos plays for another 10 or 15 years because, to me, he’s the most exciting player in the world right now. But Spaniards, and especially journalists, need to be careful and not judge him too harshly every time he loses a match, because he’s a very different player from Nadal. Carlos has more natural talent, but the heart Rafa had—no other athlete in history has had or will have that. Carlos is fantastic, Novak and Roger are legends, but Rafa was on a different level of competitiveness. If you saw that you were going to face Nadal in a tournament… good luck, my friend.”

Becker’s impressive career

During his career, Becker won 49 titles, including his six Grand Slam singles titles. Among his records, he was the youngest men’s Wimbledon champion in history at only 17 years old. In total, he won three Wimbledon Championships, as well as two Australian Opens (1991 and 1996) and 1989 US Open.