There will be no debate about the GOAT once Rafael Nadal overtakes Roger Federer's Slam tally: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga recently showered rich praise on Rafael Nadal, and talked up the Spaniard's claim to the title of 'GOAT'. Tsonga believes Nadal will be considered the greatest player of all time once he manages to win his 21st Grand Slam.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are currently tied at 20 Slams apiece, with Nadal heavily favored to increase his count at the upcoming French Open. Federer, on the other hand, looks unlikely to add to his tally given his struggles over the last couple of years.
Given that Rafael Nadal is also around half a decade younger than Roger Federer, it is likely that he will end his career with more Slams than the Swiss. And Jo-Wilfried Tsonga believes the same, as evidenced by some of his recent comments.
The Frenchman claimed that Rafael Nadal's title tally is more impressive than Roger Federer's given that he has achieved it in a shorter time span. He also asserted that the Spaniard would unanimously be called the GOAT if he were to become the sole owner of the Slam record.
"Considering that he is five years younger than Federer, what he has done is exceptional," Tsonga said. "Today we cannot question that he was the one who won the most. If he were to overtake Roger with the number of Grand Slam titles, there would definitely be no more debate about the greatest player of all time."
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga further claimed that Rafael Nadal is the hands-down favorite to win another French Open title this year. The former Australian Open runner-up also believes Nadal would be the favorite in the eyes of everyone - including those who have a chance of beating him, like Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem.
"Today there is no one who doubts that he is the inevitable favorite, you ask all the players, even those who are able to beat him today, they think he is the favorite," Tsonga said. "There is no doubt, he has won 13 times in 15 years, it's just out of the ordinary. If there is one favorite, it's Rafael Nadal."
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reckons there is "still a bit of margin" between Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and the rest of the field
While Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have seemingly begun to cede ground in some of the lesser events, they continue to maintain their stranglehold on the Majors. Together, they have accounted for 10 of the last 11 Grand Slams on offer, thus keeping the Next Gen at arm's length from the biggest prizes in tennis.
But with their recent showing at the Italian Open, where Rafael Nadal won the title and Djokovic finished as runner-up, the prolific duo seem to have indicated they are not going to give up Masters easily either.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga echoed the same during his interview, and added that the younger players still have a lot of catching up to do at the Slams.
"Both, whether Novak and Rafael, on the tournament in Rome, still put the church a bit back in the middle of the village and showed that there was still a bit of margin and that they were still the favorites for the Grand Slams," Tsonga said.