WATCH: Novak Djokovic and his son Stefan in attendance at Davis Cup Final; Canada lifts its maiden title
Just a week after winning a record-tying sixth ATP Tour Finals singles title, Djokovic has turned his mind to tennis again. He and his son Stefan, along with brother Marko, were among the notable attendees to witness Canada lift their maiden Davis Cup title in Malaga, Spain.
World No. 6 Felix Auger Aliassime beat Australia's Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 in the Davis Cup final. Auger-Aliassime's win steered his nation to its first title as he fired Canada to an invulnerable 2-0 lead after the first two matches.
Denis Shapovalov beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-2, 6-4 in the opening match of the day to set the course in the right direction for Canada.
Holaaa @DjokerNole & family 👋
#DavisCup #byRakuten https://t.co/150LLcSCe2
Stefan Djokovic, eight, has been a regular at his father's matches in recent years, even as recently as last week in Italy. He, his mother Jelena, and sister Tara were all in the stands during Djokovic's victory run.
Djokovic won the Davis Cup for his country Serbia in 2010 and reached the semifinals of the 2021 edition.
"The number of Grand Slams would have become completely irrelevant" – Mats Wilander welcomes Novak Djokovic's return to the Australian Open
Novak Djokovic's participation in the 2023 Australian Open has been warmly welcomed by Mats Wilander, who explained why it is a significant moment in tennis history.
In Wilander's opinion, the competition between Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer for the most men's singles Grand Slam titles of all time would have suffered from the Serb's continued absence from the Majors.
Wilander believes the Serb's return has much greater significance in light of the Big 3 rivalry. The Swedish tennis legend claimed that if the 35-year-old had missed any more Major tournaments, the number of Grand Slams he had won would not have mattered in the GOAT discussion.
"We're in the middle of a battle between the Big 3 for the honor of the best of all time. The number of Grand Slams would have become completely irrelevant if Novak hadn't been allowed to play anymore," Mats Wilander said in an interview with Eurosport.
Wilander went on to say that he thought the 35-year-old's ability to compete in all four Grand Slams would "revive" the competition between the Big 3.
"Most would like to know who we can call the number one of all time. That's also important for the press. The place that we get as a professional sport in the media will, I believe, be given by the return of this race or its revival massively upgraded. If he hadn't been allowed into the Australian Open now, the history of our game would have been curtailed in a way," the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion added.