The ‘Greatest of All Time’ debate continues to rumble on in tennis, but most agree that it comes down to Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal.
The ‘big three’ toppled most tennis records as they raced to 66 Grand Slam titles between them over two decades.
Many have lobbied for Novak Djokovic as the ‘GOAT’ due to his 24 Grand Slam titles, although others often vouch for Nadal and Federer.
Pat Cash joined the debate and suggested that a key factor was stopping Federer from being the ‘greatest of all time’.
Why Pat Cash said Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were better than Roger Federer
Speaking to Yahoo Sports Australia in 2020, Cash dismissed the idea that Federer was the best player in the world.
He explained: “Everybody says Federer is the greatest player of all time, but he’s not even the second greatest player of all time. That’s hard to believe.
What would have happened if Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played at the same time as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal?
“Like, if you are the best of all time, you should at least have a head-to-head record against your number one rival or number two rival. Surely, that would be the very first factor, I would say.”
Cash did go on to praise Federer, despite admitting that he believed Djokovic and Nadal were better than him.
He added: “As a shotmaker I would say [Federer is] the greatest player I have even seen. In shotmaking and movement and everything else. But in court surface and in many ways, he has been little old school.
“He has developed a more attacking game. And slow surfaces and heavy balls really don’t suit him. It’s phenomenal for that record he has, but Djokovic has the best record of them all and is closing in.”
Djokovic topped Nadal’s record of 22 Grand Slams after winning Roland Garros in 2023. He followed that up with his 24th Grand Slam at the US Open the same year.
Novak Djokovic is statistically the tennis ‘GOAT’
Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are undoubtedly the best three players in the world, but the Serbian star has earned the top spot.
Novak Djokovic is the tennis GOAT… Prove us wrong
Djokovic not only has more Grand Slam titles as Nadal and Federer, but there are several other honours where he stands head and shoulders above his rivals.
The Serbian has spent more weeks as the world number one than Federer and Nadal, with 428 weeks on top of the ATP Tour rankings.
He has also captured the most Masters 1000 titles, having lifted 40 across his career. Nadal claimed 36 Masters titles, while Federer won 28.
