If Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic played in Serbia the crowd would be split 50-50, says former World No. 1
Roger Federer has, over the years, developed a larger-than-life imagine for himself; the Swiss is one of the most sought-after sports personalities of all time. Federer was recently ranked by Forbes as the highest-earning athlete alive, but the 20-time Grand Slam champion is also perhaps the most admired sportsperson on the planet.
The Swiss player's all-around likability is something that even former World No. 1 Stan Smith has noticed. The two-time Grand Slam winner feels that Federer is one of the most loved tennis players of all time - not unlike his own contemporaries Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Arthur Ashe.
Speaking to Ubitennis, Stan Smith also compared Roger Federer's popularity to that of Novak Djokovic. While admitting that Djokovic is likely to go down as the most successful player of all time, Smith said the Serb would struggle to match the kind of support that Roger Federer commands - even if they were playing each other in Serbia.
"If they (Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer) were to play in Serbia, the crowd would still be split 50-50 because Federer is so popular around the world," Smith said. "He would go into the encounter thinking he might have the home-court advantage."
"It's just about personality that comes across on the court. Roger Federer is relatively more gracious to his opponents no matter what the situation may be but Novak is more of a fighter and he shows his emotions a bit more," Smith added.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are 3 of the 6 greatest players of all time: Stan Smith
Smith was asked during the course of the interview to weigh in on the very contentious GOAT (Greatest of All-Time) debate. The American replied that even though it is very hard to compare players from different generations, he thinks there are six players that stand out as the best in the history of men's tennis.
On his list were the much talked about 'Big 3' - Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal - as well as three players from the past - Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver and Pete Sampras.
"That's my list. In my opinion, they are the greatest players," Smith said. "There are other great ones like Jimmy Connors or John Mcenroe but these players stand out for me. I've been thinking though and I think Roger Federer is the GOAT right now."
Shortly after that Smith uttered words of high praise for Novak Djokovic as well. The 73-year-old believes that once the dust is settled, the current World No. 1 could emerge as the greatest of all time.
The fact that Novak Djokovic is younger than Federer and has the ability to stay fitter than Nadal is what puts him at an advantage, according to Smith.