Phil Taylor is the greatest darts player of all time and you would struggle to find many who would argue with that sentiment. The way Luke Littler is going, he may well one day challenge The Power but for now, darts has a very clear GOAT. However, in most sports there is usually a dispute about who deserves the accolade of greatest of all time.
In snooker, many may say that Ronne O’Sullivan is the best the sport has ever seen but there are those who will argue for Stephen Hendry or others. In golf some sit in the Tiger Woods camp and others plump for Jack Nicklaus. And then we have other sports where there was a debate but one of the contenders manages to achieve something that takes them to the next level and for the most part ends the argument.
In football, there are still those who will say that Pelé, Maradona or others are football’s GOAT. But the Lionel Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo debate, and for many the overall issue, was settled when Messi managed to guide Argentina to the 2022 World Cup. In tennis, it seems we recently saw something similar, as Novak Djokovic added the one thing missing from his stunning tennis CV by claiming Olympic gold at Paris 2024.
Hard to Argue Against Novak
Even before the Serbian legend defeated Carlos Alcaraz so easily in the final at Roland-Garros, many would have stated that he was the best male tennis player of all time. Ahead of the 2024 US Open, Djokovic has 24 Grand Slam titles, meaning he is two ahead of Rafa Nadal, four in front of Roger Federer, and one ahead of Serena Williams’ female Open Era record of 23.
That he collected so many of these when competing against incredibly strong players such as Nadal, Federer and to a lesser extent Andy Murray and now Alcaraz, further cements his status as the best of the best. His career has extreme longevity, his first major coming in 2008 and his most recent in 2023 – though it seems highly possible he has more Slams in him.
But as well as the fact he has won over such a long period, he has also enjoyed golden mini-eras within that time. He has had four separate years of claiming three of the four Grand Slams, and in three of those he lost in the final of the only one he didn’t win!
There are so many records that Novak holds, and he is without doubt the greatest all-courts player the game has ever seen. He is the only man to have won all four Slams at least three times and that record would surely have been even better were it not for the unbelievable dominance of Nadal on clay. We will come to more of his achievements shortly, but let us return to the one thing that was missing from his career until recently, the Olympics.
Gold Ends the Debate
The one thing that could have been held against Djokovic’s career was that he had not won Olympic gold. Tennis has not always taken the Games seriously, and many of the greats have not claimed gold, but Nadal, for one, had. Murray stands alone as the only man with two golds in singles tennis, whilst Federer has a silver and Djokovic previously just had a bronze from the 2008 Olympics.
Nadal won that year, the Spaniard having also claimed doubles gold in 2016, but Djokovic had just a solitary bronze medal. Until 2024. By beating Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2), the Serbian absolutely ended any debate about who the identity of the male tennis GOAT. He joined Nadal and Andre Agassi in having won a career “Golden Slam” (all four majors, plus Olympic Gold). When it comes to the career Super Slam – adding the season-ending Tour Finals to the Golden Slam – he is in a select group of just two, alongside American great, Agassi.
It was clear just how much the win in Paris meant to Djokovic, as he broke down in tears and sobbed uncontrollably. Dropping to his knees on court, the emotion of finally winning gold, 16 years on from his first Games, hit home. The emotion once again flooded out of him as he climbed into the stands, embracing his family, as even the staunchest of Nadal or Federer fans had to admit that it is indeed Djokovic who sits atop the tennis tree.
Djokovic Records and Stats
The brilliant Belgrade ace has achieved so much over his career, with more yet to come. The following is a selection of highlights from his tennis stat-pack, with all information correct as of the 8th of August 2024. The likes of Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (the current world number one), Alexander Zverev (who won gold at the Tokyo Games) and other youngsters, such as Casper Ruud and Holger Rune, will not make it easy for Djokovic to win more Grand Slams. But as he showed in Paris, there is certainly life in the old dog yet, and we wouldn’t bet against him moving above Margaret Court’s 24 Grand Slams in the years ahead.
For the time being though, Djokovic must be content with the fact that he has won a cool $184,265,269 playing tennis. Plus a whole lot more through sponsorship and endorsements. But tennis is about so much more than money, so here are some other Novak nuggets:
- World Number 1 – Novak has been top of the world rankings for a record 428 weeks. That’s more than eight solid years as world number one!
- Lucky 13 – Those 428 weeks have been spread out, with the Serb top of the pile in 13 separate calendar years.
- Oldest – At 37, Djokovic is the oldest player to have been world number one. He is also the oldest US Open champion in the Open Era, the oldest male Olympic gold medal winner in singles tennis, and the oldest player to win the ATP Finals.
- All 4 – Along with Don Budge and Rod Laver, Djokovic is one of just three men to simultaneously hold all four Grand Slams, doing so across 2015 and 2016. He also won five out of six majors in that time, making the final at the 2015 French Open before winning it in 2016.
- Finals, semis and quarters – Djokovic holds the record for the most Grand Slam appearances at these three stages.
- The Master – His 40 wins in Masters events (singles) is a record.
- And Finally – He has won the ATP Finals a record seven times.