Andy Roddick believes Novak Djokovic "owns" Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal in every major statistic apart from Grand Slam count
Pete Sampras recently called Novak Djokovic the greatest player of all time, citing some of the Serb's remarkable achievements from this year. Andy Roddick echoed Sampras' comments, stating Djokovic would become the undeniable GOAT once he clinches his 21st Major.
During a recent appearance on the Tennis Channel, Roddick doubled down on his claims. The American believes Djokovic "owns" Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in most key tennis statistics.
Meanwhile, Pam Shriver, who was also involved in the debate, pointed out that Djokovic is the GOAT regardless of what fans of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal may think.
Djokovic recently clinched his record-breaking seventh Year-End No. 1 title, going past childhood hero Sampras' record of six. The Serb also equaled Federer and Nadal's Grand Slam count (20) at Wimbledon this year.
Djokovic also broke Federer's record for most weeks at No. 1 in March and went past Nadal's record of 36 Masters 1000 titles with his win at Paris-Bercy.
In that context, Andy Roddick pointed out that the overall Slam count is the only important statistic that is still not solely in Djokovic's favor.
"The only thing left that is even up for it is the total Slam count right," Andy Roddick said. "There's Rafa winning the French Open, we don't know the status for the Australian Open."
Djokovic owns a positive head-to-head record against both Federer (27-23) and Nadal (30-28). Roddick highlighted this fact while stressing how the Serb has the upper hand over his rivals in every key metric.
"But outside of that specific statistic, Novak owns the rest of them - head-to-head, seven years at No. 1," Andy Roddick said. "Now, I don't know what the biggest upset is to Pete, whether Novak broke his record of six years at No. 1 or the fact that he was quoted in public."
PENCILS DOWN. PETE HAS SPOKEN.
Pete Sampras congratulates @DjokerNole for surpassing his year-end No. 1 record.
@andyroddick | @PHShriver | #TCLive https://t.co/XzUoTtYpGn
Pam Shriver agreed with Roddick and Sampras' viewpoints, explaining that Djokovic should be considered the greatest of all time regardless of what some fanbases think. Shriver also pointed out that Djokovic still has a lot of tennis left in him.
"I think Pete's right, I think Andy was right yesterday," Pam Shriver said. "Whether or not the fandoms out there of both Rafa and Roger like it or not, it doesn't matter, just look at the numbers, look at the age of Djokovic. Look how much more tennis he has to go."
What did Pete Sampras & Andy Roddick say about Novak Djokovic?
Pete Sampras recently explained in detail why he considers Novak Djokovic the GOAT. The American pointed to the Serb's consistency and prolonged domination of the tour to drive home his point.
"I do think what Novak's done over the past 10 years, winning the Majors, being consistent, finishing No. 1 for seven years, to me it's a clear sign that he is the greatest of all time," Sampras said.
Andy Roddick also threw his weight behind Djokovic in the GOAT debate even though he admitted to having a soft spot for Roger Federer. While speaking to Tennis Channel, the former US Open champion argued that it would be impossible not to call Djokovic the GOAT once he goes past Federer and Nadal on the Slam leaderboard.
Who's the GOAT?
a) Novak 🇷🇸
b) Roger 🇨🇭
c) Rafa 🇪🇸
If you ask Andy, it's about the numbers.
@AndyRoddick | #TCLive https://t.co/8kUyfzLDcA
"Roger's one of my dear, dear friends, I have so much respect for Rafa Nadal - I hope they both come back and win Majors," Andy Roddick said. "But also very clearly, if Novak Djokovic ends his career with the most Grand Slam titles of all time, it is a statistical impossibility to argue against him being the greatest based on numbers, which is what we should base it on off."