Novak Djokovic is ‘world number one, helps other players and also takes care of running the academy,’ says former ATP star

Former top 16 player Younes El Aynaoui expressed his admiration for Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, but reserved special praise for world number one Novak Djokovic.

The Moroccan works as a coach at Djokovic’s tennis centre in Belgrade, insisting he has a great understanding with the Serb and his passion for the academy is admirable.

“Great. Novak is amazing,” El Aynaoui said. “He decides every little thing for the academy. He plays a Grand Slam tournament, is number one in the world, helps other players and also takes care of running the academy. I couldn’t have done that. Even shortly before a match, he checks whether everything is going well at the academy.”

El Aunaoui added that he competed against both Nadal and Federer, but not Djokovic, however he considers all members of the ‘Big Three’ as the ‘best’.

“I played against Federer and Nadal when they were both relatively young on the tour. I won against both of them once,” El Aynaoui said. “I even beat Nadal at the US Open. I see all three of them as the best, even if I never played against Novak.”

The Moroccan credited Nadal’s control and Federer’s wonderful tennis.

“When talking about self-control, Nadal is outstanding,” added the Moroccan. “He never shows his frustration, only his motivation. When it comes to the beauty of tennis with fluid movements, Federer is the ultimate.”

“It’s a pleasure to have the top three players in history in one era,” El Aynaoui added. “Young tennis players should take this as an example. Unfortunately, some young people prefer to watch the highlights of Benoit Paire and Nick Kyrgios. I recommend checking out Djokovic’s highlights.”