Everything in the tennis world depends on Novak Djokovic, he loses only if he allows his opponents to beat him: Father Srdjan
Novak Djokovic’s father Srdjan Djokovic recently claimed that his son is the center around which the entire tennis world revolves. Srdjan also asserted that the only matches the 33-year-old loses are those in which he 'allows' his opponents to win.
Novak Djokovic recently went past Roger Federer’s all-time record of 310 weeks as World No. 1. The Serb is still two Majors shy of Federer and Nadal’s joint-record tally of 20, but he is widely expected to surpass them sooner or later.
In that context, Srdjan Djokovic was asked by Croatian publication Sportske Novosti if his son Novak could soon become the unanimous GOAT. Srdjan jumped into the topic with both feet and declared that there is no need to wait for that, as his son is already the "best of all time."
To support his argument, Srdjan Djokovic cited Novak’s sparkling record in several key facets, including weeks at No. 1 and number of Masters 1000 titles (Novak Djokovic leads Rafael Nadal by 36-35 in this statistic). Srdjan did acknowledge that his son lacks the coveted Olympic gold, but expressed confidence that the 33-year-old would win that - and also two more Slams - this year.
"I think you have the wrong question, he has no tendency, he is already the best of all time," Srdjan Djokovic said. "According to the number of weeks spent at No. 1, and in head-to-head matches, according to the number of Masters titles...the only thing he lacks is Olympic gold and those two Grand Slam titles, which he will win this year."
Srdjan Djokovic continued to wax lyrical about Novak, brazenly asserting that nobody can ever outplay his son on the court.
"He is the best and everything in the world of tennis depends on him," Srdjan Djokovic added. "He can lose, but not because his opponent outplayed him, but because he allowed his opponent to beat him."
Srdjan Djokovic believes that his son ranks amongst the greatest athletes of all time, in addition to being the best tennis player. To support his argument, Novak Djokovic's father cited journalist Simon Briggs - who recently claimed that Djokovic’s achievements have placed him in a category above Federer and Nadal.
"He is still the best tennis player in the world and one of the best athletes of all time," Srdjan said. "Well, an English journalist said last week, even though they are his fierce opponents, that his rivals are no longer Federer and Nadal, but compare him instead to Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. He's that category for you."
Novak Djokovic’s career will last 3 years at most: Srdjan Djokovic
According to Srdjan, Novak Djokovic will not play tennis for more than three years from now. But during this period, the senior Serb expects his son to lay claim to all significant tennis records.
"He will not leave tennis yet, his career will last another year and a half, two, up to three at most, when all possible parameters will be in his possession," Srdjan continued.
Moving on to Novak Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic, Srdjan claimed that the Croat has been a magnificent addition to the World No. 1's coaching team. Even though Srdjan considers his son to be near-perfect, he pointed out that the 33-year-old works hard to improve on his occasional problems by taking the help of experts like Ivanisevic.
"I think that suits Novak perfectly, Goran's joining his team," Novak Djokovic’s father said. "He hit the mark like he always does! Novak is fantastic in every way and he is aware of his flaws, his virtues are huge, but he also has flaws that he has tried to correct during his entire career. Alone and with the help of experts, former tennis players, such as Ivanisevic did for his serve. Their collaboration has led to the fantastic title victory in Australia."