“It is still burning. Djokovic and the GOAT debate now to Paris.”

When Novak Djokovic (36, Serbia, world No. 1) reached the top of the Australian Open for the 10th time in his career on the 29th, major foreign media outlets such as Reuters published articles with these titles. With his win, the debate surrounding men’s tennis ‘GOAT (Greatest of all time)’ is rekindling.

The past 20 years was the era of the so-called ‘Penazo’. Led by Roger Federer (42, Switzerland, retired), a player who might come out once in 100 years, Rafael Nadal (37, Spain, 6th) and Djokovic heated up the tennis stage at once. They combined an amazing record of winning a total of 64 times in the four major tournaments, and tennis celebrated an unprecedented ‘star’ rich year.

The first GOAT was Federer. Having tasted his first major championship win at Wimbledon in 2003, he won his 15th overall at Wimbledon in 2009, beating the previous record holder, Pete Sampras (14) of the United States. He won his 20th major event title at the 2018 Australian Open. It was a feat no one had ever achieved.

Since then, Nadal, who was treated as a ‘number two’, took over the GOAT position. He was regarded as a half player because he was only strong in the French Open, a clay court. He laughed at every major tournament except the Australian Open in 2010, becoming the youngest player to achieve a Grand Slam at the age of 24. He was also a ‘Golden Grand Slam’ by winning a gold medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Until this Australian Open, he alone held the record for the most major championships. 스포츠토토

But now, Djokovic, who was considered the ‘three-man’, is emerging as a strong GOAT. He is still strong enough to win major tournaments, and is already ranked first in several categories, including the longest period (374 weeks) and career earnings. Given that Federer is retired and Nadal’s performance is on the decline with frequent injuries, Djokovic will most likely remain the record holder for most major championships. After winning the Australian Open, Djokovic said, “At this point (in my twilight years as a tennis player), major trophies are my biggest driving force.” I have no intention of stopping here,” he said.