Novak Djokovic, the only active representative of the Big Three that defined an era in tennis history alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, made the decision not to participate in the ATP Finals in Turin, despite having qualified by ranking. He thus closed out his 2025 season with two titles, bringing his career total to 101.
The Serbianās most recent title came in Athens, following a three-set victory over Italyās Lorenzo Musetti in the final. After the win, he granted an interview to Piers Morgan where he reflected on the never-ending debate over the greatest tennis player in history.
āIāve been asked this a lot over the last few years. Obviously, there are many statistics and people compare them to those of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. But Iām going to say what I always say: Iām not going to give my opinion on this topic because I am not in a position to say it,ā the Serbian star began.
Djokovic explained his reasoning, citing respect for his competition and the gameās history. āI think it would be very disrespectful to the players who have played against me, such as Nadal or Federer. Furthermore, I donāt feel comfortable talking about it. I consider myself a great student of tennis and I have a lot of respect for all the previous eras,ā the all-time menās Grand Slam champion (24 titles) added.
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer during the 2022 Laver Cup. (Getty Images)
He concluded by stressing the difficulty of comparing athletes across different generations: āIt is very difficult to compare eras, because our sport has gone through many changes in the last fifty years, in terms of technology, equipment, balls, surfaces. Everything has become professionalized, although that doesnāt mean it wasnāt professional beforeā.
Djokovic impressed with Sinner and Alcaraz
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Alcaraz ends year as World No.1 as he achieves a record that Federer, Nadal and Djokovic couldnāt reach
In a major concession, Novak Djokovic expressed doubt about his ability to conquer his 25th Grand Slam title with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz currently competing at their peak. The Serbian has now closed the second consecutive year without winning at least one of the four major championships.
āI have been the dominant tennis player for most of my career, and now I am being dominated by Alcaraz and Sinner,ā the Serbian noted. āI am aware that, right now, those two are better than me. That is the realityā.
The last eight Grand Slam titles have been split between the Spanish and Italian stars. This means that over the last two years, Sinner and Alcaraz have been the sole champions at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open, clearly illustrating their current dominance over the rest of the tour.
