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imago images / AAP
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1.7
Roger Federer is still at the top of the list of Grand Slam victories at 20.
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imago images / AAP
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2.7
Novak Djokovic is about to outstrip him.
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AFP
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3.7
In Melbourne, he won his 17th Grand Slam crown.
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Getty Images for Laureus
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7.7
“According to the numbers, Federer is still the most successful,” says Boris Becker at the Laureus Awards.
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When the Laureus World Sports Awards are presented on Monday evening in Berlin, Roger Federer is missing. The five-time world athlete is not nominated for once. And yet the Swiss tennis star is one of the topics of the evening. Indian media want to know from Boris Becker who he thinks is the greatest tennis player of all time. “If it comes down to the numbers, Roger Federer is the most successful,” says the German, who is one of the 60 members of the Laureus Academy in Berlin. In the most important statistics, that of the Grand Slam titles won, Federer is still ahead of his rivals Rafael Nadal (19) and Novak Djokovic (17) at 20.
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However, Becker has to put his assessment into perspective: “The question of the greatest of all times is difficult to answer because there were many different surfaces in the 70s, 80s and 90s.” In fact, the documents have been aligned over time. It is therefore not only possible to determine how good a player really was from the numbers, says Becker.
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Opposite the “Tennis Channel”, Tracy Austin, another former world number 1, joins the discussion about the GOAT (Greatest of all Time). “At the end of the day, it will be Novak,” says the American who won the US Open in 1979 and 1981. For Djokovic, the time factor speaks above all, says Austin: «So far, its wear has been limited. He will surely have four more years in which he can win Grand Slam tournaments on all surfaces. » In this regard, the 32-year-old Djokovic has a clear advantage over the six-year-old Federer and Nadal (33), who regularly suffer from knee problems. “When Rafa plays, he’s still the king on clay,” says Austin.
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Head-to-head speaks for Djokovic
With the direct comparison, Austin has another argument for the Serb. After all, Djokovic has already won the majority of the duels against Federer (27:23) and Nadal (29:26). Austin says: «Djokovic was the young star who had to pass Roger and Rafa in all his grand slam triumphs. Federer already won titles when the other two rivals weren’t there yet. » What the 57-year-old means by this: When the Swiss played the ATP tour from 2003 to 2007 in the ground and received twelve majors, Djokovic was at the very beginning of his career and even Nadal was really really competitive mainly on sand.
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Austin’s conclusion is therefore: «It was the most difficult for Djokovic to win his Grand Slam titles. And at some point he will have most of them. » (CMUE)
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