Andy Murray’s comment on Nadal and Federer sums up his feelings on Novak Djokovic
Andy Murray has been announced as Novak Djokovic’s new coach – and the Scot’s past comments about his former ‘Big Three’ rivals show just how much respect he has for the Serb.
Murray retired from tennis earlier this year after repeated injury problems, calling time on a career that included three Grand Slam titles and two Olympic gold medals. Now 37, Murray will help his legendary long-time rival Djokovic – the man who denied him even greater success – by assisting the Serb ahead of the Australian Open.
Murray reached the Australian Open final five times as a player, being defeated by Djokovic on four of those occasions. That goes some way to explaining the huge respect he has for the record 24-time Grand Slam champion, which he displayed when asked to compare Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Djokovic as part of a ‘greatest of all time’ debate.
The Scot, whose success briefly formed a ‘Big Four’ alongside the aforementioned trio, admitted Djokovic’s sheer volume of titles could be deemed GOAT-worthy but also gave a more balanced take on the perennial debate.
“What all those guys have achieved is amazing,” he said in 2023. “If you just go on Grand Slam titles, then you’d have to give that to Novak but for me, it’s just slightly more nuanced than that.
