Novak Djokovic appeared to end the debate in the race to be hailed as the greatest tennis player of all-time after he overtook Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the race to win the most Grand Slam titles in the history of the men’s game, but a former Wimbledon champion has cast doubt over whether the Serbian is the real GOAT of the game.
Djokovic won his 24th Grand Slam title when he lifted the US Open title in September 2023, easing him two clear of Nadal in the Grand Slam count and drawing him level with Australian great Margaret Court for the most major title wins.
While Djokovic has failed to get the 25th Grand Slam title that would put him in a league of his own for major title wins, he is comfortably ahead of all his male rivals for weeks, sitting at No 1 and ATP Masters 1000 wins.
That would appear to make him the undisputed GOAT of tennis, but former 1987 Wimbledon winner Pat Cash has suggested it is impossible to crown the king of the sport, as he believes comparing eras is tough game to play.
Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg and numerous champions from different periods of the sport have all been hailed as the all-time greats, with Cash arguing the definition of greatness is hard to quantify.
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“I don’t think anybody can be called the GOAT, the greatest of all time. That’s why this is such a great conversation,” said Cash, speaking on the latest edition of the Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast, that will be released on Monday.
“Let’s do another podcast on that and throw out our theories.It’s a great one to do. Let’s throw out our theories and some stats and all that sort of stuff.
“And I think when you know the history of tennis, you go back to say, well, Rod Laver used to use wooden rackets. There’s all sorts of there’s all sorts of things in the mix.
“You think about Ken Rosewall and like Laver, he was banned for many years [after turning professional in the amateur era of the sport], so it’s a great discussion.
“We forget too soon the greats and then we say somebody’s the greatest of all time. Then they lose a couple of matches and we say, oh now, they’re not the greatest. So we do have short memories.”
Former British No 1 interjects at this point and suggests Djokovic deserves the crown based on his Grand Slam record.
“We do have short memories, but for me, I like to go by numbers,” said the 1997 US Open finalist.
“So I would say Novak, in my opinion, is the GOAT just because of what he’s doing, nearly 39 years of age, which is incredible to be able to compete at that level and the drive and the intensity. So I consider Novak my goat, but we’re all allowed to have different opinions.”
Djokovic fans are always quick to defend their man if anyone dares to suggest the Serbian is not the all-time GOAT of the men’s game, so Cash’s comments are certain to stir some debate.
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