"Novak Djokovic is at the height of the best athletes in any sport," believes Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan, widely regarded as the world's best snooker player, recently heaped praise on tennis legend and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic has been playing tennis for nearly two decades and is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, on the circuit. He has 22 Grand Slam titles to his name, a record he currently shares with Rafael Nadal. The Serb recently surpassed Steffi Graf as the player with the most weeks as world No. 1, with a total of 384 weeks.
In a recent interview with Marca, Ronnie O'Sullivan stated that while he admires Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic is the "king" of all.
"Yes, it's phenomenal. I love tennis and I love watching his career. I love watching Federer and Nadal, the three greatest players of all time, but Novak seems to me to be the king of them all. He's doing amazing things on a tennis court. He is simply a champion of champions," he said.
He went on to say that every athlete looks to the Serb for inspiration and that he is one of the best athletes in any sport.
"Everyone, whether you play football or golf, tennis or hockey player, no matter what sport you play, everyone looks at Djokovic. He is at the height of the best athletes in any sport, with what he has achieved in tennis and what he continues to achieve. He's a phenomenal player," he said.
The Brit then stated that he would swap careers with the 35-year-old and would like to do what he does on the tennis court. He added that he wanted to experience the "hard" life of a tennis player.
"I don't know what it's like in snooker. I'm not sure he plays pool much. But listen, if you're good at one ball sport, you're usually good at another. I would swap careers anyway, so to speak. I would like to do what he does on a tennis court instead of on a snooker table," he said.
"They play in big stadiums. All the Grand Slam tournaments, all the big tournaments. It's a hard life being a tennis player, but when you're at the top and you play in some of the places they play, it's good," he added.
Novak Djokovic withdraws from the Madrid Open 2023
Novak Djokovic has followed in the footsteps of his arch-rival Rafael Nadal, withdrawing from the 2023 Madrid Open. His announcement came just a few days after the Spaniard.
The Serb's withdrawal from the 2023 Madrid Open came shortly after his loss at the ATP 250 Srpska Open final. While no specific reason was given for his withdrawal, he recently discussed elbow issues, mostly downplaying the severity of the problem.
Madrid Open tournament officials announced the news on Twitter, writing:
"@DjokerNole is unable to compete at the #MMOPEN. Wishing you a speedy recovery, we hope to see you back on court as soon as possible, Nole."