Novak Djokovic warned against Rafael Nadal ‘fight’ as efforts may be ‘forgotten’

Novak Djokovic has been told that his achievement of winning a record 23rd men’s singles Grand Slam title will be “forgotten”. The world No 1 made history when he won the French Open on Sunday. But former pro Ilie Nastase claimed that Rafael Nadal’s 14 Roland Garros titles would carry more weight than Djokovic’s record as he said the Serb’s feat wasn’t significant.

As well as lifting a record 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open, Djokovic’s victory also made him the first man to win all four Majors at least three times. And he is already the favourite to win his 24th at Wimbledon next month which would see him break new ground in the Open Era.

While the Serb’s achievement has ended the GOAT debate for many, Nastase believes that Djokovic’s record will be forgotten like the achievements of past professionals including Rod Laver and Pete Sampras.

“I don’t think it’s a fight, at least I don’t think it’s a personal fight between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal,” the Romanian told Gazeta Sporturilor, addressing the GOAT race. “I don’t see it this way.

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“This is what happened: Novak won another Grand Slam, but it could have been the other way around, right? Nadal could have been with 23, the two would still be stuck, does it matter that much that one now has one more title?”

And Nastase made another bold statement as he claimed that Nadal’s record of 14 titles at the French Open alone was more valuable than having 23 Majors overall. He added: “Those 14 Roland Garros weigh much more than Djokovic’s 23 Grand Slams.”

The 76-year-old also refused to count out several other players in the GOAT debate and believed that Djokovic was just the hot topic because he was currently winning. “There are many players who opt for that GOAT status, Federer too,” he said.

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“We cannot forget the ones from before: Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver, who completed the Calendar Grand Slam twice, or Pete Sampras. Sometimes we forget about these people Agassi, for example, is also there.

“Children only look at who is the champion, I suppose it happens like in football, where Pele was appreciated in his time, then Cruyff arrived, Maradona and now Messi.

“Djokovic, despite his 23 Grand Slams, will be forgotten like everyone else. We can only sit and look at his records when we open the newspaper, but we can’t forget about Nadal, or about Federer because he retired. Djokovic’s turn will come too.”

But Nastase wouldn’t put a number on how many Majors Djokovic would end up with by the end of his career – even if he thought they’d be forgotten. He added: “I don’t know how many Grand Slams Djokovic will win, nobody knows, I don’t think he knows either. Let’s also see how long he keeps playing, because he’s 36 now.

“Around 38 or 39 you start to lose a bit of energy, although Federer lasted a little longer. Now it all depends on how long Novak continues to play, if he only plays the Grand Slam tournaments he will have the chance to get less tired.”

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