"My GOAT is the combination of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic" - Monica Seles' former coach
Monica Seles' former coach Claudio Pistolesi believes there is no clear GOAT (Greatest of all time) amongst Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic. He reckons all three have strong arguments to be called the greatest ever, which is why holding all three as one combined element is the truest form of tennis greatness.
Claudio Pistolesi is a former tennis pro, but he has achieved greater success as a coach. He guided Seles to her 1996 Australian Open triumph. The Italian also worked with Ai Sugiyama, Simone Bolelli, Michael Berrer, Robin Soderling, Daniela Hantuchova, and Emil Ruusuvuori.
Pistolesi recently appeared on the Functional Tennis Podcast, where he was asked to pick the GOAT in men's tennis.
The Italian began by pointing out how Roger Federer was perceived as the GOAT when he started winning titles. But the narrative changed once Rafael Nadal began beating the Swiss and winning one Major after another.
Pistolesi paid special tribute to the Mallorcan's sheer dominance at Roland Garros.
"My GOAT is - this period of time 99-2000 when Roger Federer stepped into picture, many think he is the GOAT," Pistolesi said. "But then came Rafa Nadal, that beat him and he starts to win 13 French Open - I get crazy only when I think about that - 13 French Open! We have players that won - for me Guga Kuerten won three times French Open, was incredible already - and this guy won 13, so then he won two Wimbledon."
Seles' former coach then lavished praise on Novak Djokovic's achievements, especially with the way the Serb has dominated the rankings.
"And then is coming Djokovic, ridiculous number of weeks at No. 1 at the world, the one with most times No. 1 in the world in ranking (Year-End No. 1), winning another 20 Majors," he continued. "So is impossible to say one of these three."
The tennis coach firmly believes that a single member of the Big 3 does not stand out more than the other. As such, Pistolesi feels all three combined are the greatest to grace the game.
"I think my GOAT is the combination of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic - not to be diplomatic but this is the truth," he said. "You know, if you say Nadal, there is a but - yes, maybe Nadal because he won most Major but Djokovic is the one with most No. 1 (weeks and year-end) and Roger, he has for sure records that is even difficult to keep track."
"You don't also wanna start this Rafael Nadal supporter against Roger Federer supporter, they start to insult" - Claudio Pistolesi
During the podcast, Claudio Pistolesi pointed out how picking one among the Big 3 during GOAT discussions leads to verbal jousting between the set of fans on social media.
"So the three of them, if you say one of these three, you don't also wanna start this Nadal supporter against Federer supporter, they start to insult, which is the bad part of the social network," said the coach. "They start to fight - no Djokovic, no Nadal, no because Federer...they start to insult each other (which) is sad."
Pistolesi concluded by reiterating that he considers the trio the combined GOAT.
"So, I wanna say that the period of time that with these three playing together, which they are still doing hopefully - Roger is back for more tournaments - is the GOAT," he said.