"The greatest tennis player of my generation is Roger Federer; he is the guy who showed the world how tennis can be improved" - Nikolay Davydenko

Nikolay Davydenko considers Roger to be the greatest tennis player of his generation

Speaking on the latest episode of the Functional Tennis Podcast, Nikolay Davydenko declared Roger Federer to be the greatest tennis player of his generation.

Even though the Swiss is tied with Rafael Nadal and djokovic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Novak Djokovic at 20 Grand Slam titles each, Davydenko placed him ahead of the other two due to his technical brilliance.

Mega episode this week. I speak to former world no.3 Nikolay Davydenko this week. 🎧 Listen here link.chtbl.com/nikolay-davyde… #tennis #tennispodcast https://t.co/2p0WVHNbok

Davydenko drew attention to Federer's mesmerizing forehand and serve in particular. Those two attributes, along with his mentality and movement on the court, made him the clear favorite for the Russian.

Davydenko also credited the former World No. 1 as the one who showed the world how tennis really ought to be played.

"The greatest tennis player of my generation is Roger Federer, for me," Davydenko said. "Technically speaking, based on the forehand, his serve, his mentality on the court, the way he moves on the court. He is the guy who showed the world how tennis can be improved."

Davydenko remarked that if the current World No. 16 were fit today, he would most certainly be winning Grand Slams against the new crop of players.

"If Federer were still playing today in a fit condition against Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas, I think he would still be winning Grand Slams," Davydenko said.

Nikolay Davydenko placed Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at the same level after Roger Federer

Nikolay Davydenko placed Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the second position behind Roger

Nikolay Davydenko conceded that Novak Djokovic might be the better player in terms of numbers. Although Djokovic has more Masters titles than the 40-year-old and may potentially go on to win more Grand Slams than the Swiss, Davydenko said he was not a fan of the Serb's style of play.

"I remember Alexander Zverev saying Novak Djokovic was the greatest player of all time," Davydenko said. "Maybe based on the number of titles. Maybe according to the Grand Slams and Masters titles. But technically I don't like the way Djokovic plays."

Zverev on the GOAT debate: "You cannot argue with the stats. Djokovic holds many records. You can't say Federer and Nadal are the greatest just because we were all cheering for them from the beginning." (Via Tennis Magazin)

As a result, he placed the World No. 1 a notch below the Swiss along with Nadal and Andy Murray. The former World No. 3 then revised the standings, placing Murray in fourth because the Brit hasn't won as many Grand Slam titles.

"Roger is still on top. After Djokovic, there is Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. These three guys are at the same level," Davydenko said. "Well, Murray is still No. 4 because he did not win as many Grand Slams."

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