Novak Djokovic is not the greatest tennis player of all time according to Ilie Nastase.
Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, which is more than any other player in Open Era history.
As a result, many people including Carlos Alcaraz have called Djokovic the greatest of all time over the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
However, Nastase, who was the first world number one in ATP history, does not appear to believe that Djokovic is the best player in tennis history.
Ilie Nastase calls Rafael Nadal the best player he has ever seen instead of Novak Djokovic
Nastase spoke at the Festival dello Sport about a number of moments from his career, and also the current state of men’s tennis.
This is where the Romanian praised current world number one Jannik Sinner, who continues to be absent due to a knee injury, as Nastase explained why you cannot compare generations.
“I like tennis today,” said Nastase, as reported by Gazetta dello Sport. “Every era has its champions: in my time, there was someone like [Rod] Laver, and now Sinner. You can’t compare different eras in any sport. Jannik? If you have a good serve and good movement today, you don’t need much else to excel. He doesn’t play much at the net; he’s very strong as is.”
Nastase then continued by calling Nadal the greatest player he has ever seen, highlighting his record of winning 14 titles at Roland Garros.
“But the best player I’ve ever seen is still Nadal: winning 14 times in Paris is worth more than any other Slam,” claimed Nastase.
Nastase then added, “The controversy about playing too much? The one who plays the most wins the most, simple, so it depends on your level. But today, if someone loses in the first round, they have five days to prepare for the next tournament. Someone else who gets to Sunday, on the other hand, plays the final and maybe has to start another tournament on Monday. It’s very difficult.”
Do you think Rafael Nadal is the GOAT? 🐐
Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles in his career, 14 of which came at Roland Garros, but he also won 36 Masters 1000 titles and two Olympic gold medals.
After retiring from tennis at the Davis Cup Finals in 2024, Nadal has only just returned to a tennis court for a team exhibition event against Andy Murray.
