"That's the most important one, I'm very thrilled about it" - When Novak Djokovic jokingly regarded Boris Becker's record as higher than Federer's
Novak Djokovic won a record 28th Masters title at the 2016 Miami Open by defeating Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3 in the summit clash. With his victory, the Serb registered quite a few records against his name, but the one he felt the most proud of was overtaking his then-coach Boris Becker in terms of tour-level wins.
The 55-year-old German legend retired in June 1999 with 713 match wins and six Grand Slam titles. Djokovic's triumph over Nishikori in the final of the 2016 Miami open was his 714th on the tour, which meant that he became the sole owner of the 11th position on the list of most wins in the Open Era among men.
Surpassing Roger Federer as the all-time prize money leader on the ATP tour was another achievement for the current World No. 1. When asked which record he was more excited about in a press conference after the final, he chose going past Becker over the Swiss icon.
"Boris' wins, by far. That's the most important one (laughs). I had a phone call with him. We had a laugh about it," he said. " No, but, I mean, of course, I'm very grateful and proud of all the achievements, and the fact that I put myself in a position to make records and to have my name in the history books is a great incentive before matches like this."
"I didn't think about it too much. It didn't impose any pressure, or I didn't want to have it as a distraction; rather as a motivation. It's quite amazing. I'm very thrilled about it. Hopefully I can make many more records," he added.
The 35-year-old also left Rafael Nadal behind in the race for the highest number of Masters 1000 titles. While the Spaniard had 27 titles at the time, Federer was third on the list with 24. Djokovic set another record by winning the Sunshine Double for the fourth time.
Novak Djokovic is the best among the Big 3: Thomaz Bellucci
Former Brazilian player Thomaz Bellucci faced Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as many as six times each, losing all matches. Speaking to ESPN recently, Bellucci picked the Serb as the best among the Big 3 but added that it was the Spaniard he had the most difficulty against.
"For me, the best is Djokovic. But the one I always had the most difficulty with was Nadal, because of my style of play," Bellucci said.
In his last meeting against Bellucci, the Serb lost the first set 0-6 but managed to turn things around and win the match 0-6, 6-3, 6-2.