Tennis analyst Gill Gross has argued that older tennis stars
Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, and
Rod Laver have a better claim to challenge
Novak Djokovic for the status of Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) than
Roger Federer and
Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic appeared to put an end to the GOAT debate between himself and his fellow Big Three members Nadal and Federer after he equaled Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles at the 2023 US Open. This extended his lead over Federer, who won 20 majors before he retired last year, and Nadal's 22 Slam titles.
However, Gross has been looking at the GOAT debate from a different perspective, saying that "historical context" could be used to argue that the greats of past decades can challenge Djokovic for the prestigious label.
Gross says "accomplished" does not always mean "greatest"
"In a way, your Rod Laver’s and Bjorn Borg’s and Pete Sampras’ of the world have a better claim that Novak isn’t the GOAT, they have a better claim than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in some ways," Gross said on the Monday Match Analysis Podcast.
"And that way is that, if you’re going to cast a doubt on Djokovic’s deservedness to have that label on him, you have to point to things like, in a previous time athletic longevity was not what it is today. Or it was much, much harder to win across all three surfaces.
"These are things you would have to point to to make an argument that - yes, Djokovic is the most accomplished player of all time but for these reasons, to put it in the historical context and to look at all the factors, he’s not necessarily the greatest of all time," he continued.
Laver won 198 singles titles -the most of any player in history - in a career that spanned from 1963 to 1979. He also won 11 Grand Slam singles titles and 8 Pro Majors titles.
Meanwhile, Borg became the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slams, including five consecutive victories at Wimbledon from 1976 - 1980. He is also the only man to have achieved the Channel Slam three times.
Finally, Sampras broke the record for most Grand Slam titles won by a man with 14, a number which was then surpassed by each of the Big Three. His titles included a then-record 7 Wimbledon titles and a joint Open Era record of 5 US Open titles.
