"What I love about Novak Djokovic is he became the GOAT with Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal in same boat" - Serena Williams' ex-coach Rick Macci
Serena Williams' childhood coach Rick Macci has explained that he loves Novak Djokovic because of the Serb's rise to the top despite playing in the same era as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Macci wrote about his love for Djokovic in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), tweeting:
"What I love most about the Serbian Sniper (Djokovic) is he became GOAT with Fed (Federer) and Rafa (Nadal) with him in the same boat."
Federer had already established himself as the most dominant men's tennis player by the time Djokovic made his ATP Tour debut in 2004. At the time, Nadal too had started making a name for himself.
Djokovic's Grand Slam debut came in 2005, the same year that Nadal won his maiden Major at the French Open. Federer, meanwhile, clinched his fifth and sixth Grand Slam titles at the Wimbledon Championships and US Open respectively that year.
In 2007, Djokovic finally broke into the top three, but he initially struggled to win against both Nadal and Federer, especially in Grand Slams. Against the Spaniard, the Serb lost in the 2007 French Open semifinals. Djokovic reached the US Open final as well, but suffered a straight-set defeat at the hands of Federer.
He broke the duo's Grand Slam stranglehold by winning the 2008 Australian Open, but things pretty much continued in the same vein until 2011.
However, from 2011 onwards, Novak Djokovic looked a player transformed, as he started to close the gap between himself and the Federer-Nadal duo. Eventually, he became the World No. 1, and for the most part of the following decade, he has maintained his dominance.
Even though Federer and Nadal were the first two from the trio to win 20 Grand Slams each, Djokovic caught up with them.
In 2022, Nadal surpassed Federer by winning his 21st and 22nd Grand Slam titles. In 2023, Djokovic surpassed Nadal with his Australian Open, French Open and US Open triumphs, making it 24 Grand Slam men's singles titles for the Serb.
Novak Djokovic is back in training to prepare for the Indian Wells Masters
Novak Djokovic's 2024 campaign began at the Australian Open, where the Serb was the overwhelming favorite to win the title.
However, in the semifinals, an error-prone Djokovic ran into a confident Jannik Sinner. The Italian capitalized on his uncharacteristic mistakes to defeat him, eventually going on to win the Major after beating Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Following his Australian Open exit, Djokovic took a small break from tennis as he relaxed with his family in Mallorca. The World No. 1 is now set to return to the Indian Wells Masters this year after making his previous appearance at the tournament back in 2019.
Ahead of his return to the tournament that he has won five times in the past, the Serb has resumed training. Videos surfaced on social media showing the 24-time Grand Slam winner practicing at the Puente Romano Tennis Club in Marbella, Spain.