Former Cypriot tennis player Marcos Baghdatis has revealed that Novak Djokovic was the toughest opponent of his career, putting him ahead of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, even though he managed to beat both of them when they were at the top of the ATP rankings.
Baghdatis, who played a series of matches against the “big three” during his career, has a particularly negative score against Djokovic – he lost all eight matches between 2007 and 2015. One of the most famous was the marathon quarter-final clash at Wimbledon, which lasted almost five hours.
In a statement, the Cypriot pointed out that Djokovic “the best player he never managed to beat”and that’s exactly why it gives him a slight edge over Federer and Nadal.
Beat Federer and Nadal, but not Djokovic
Interestingly, Baghdatis can boast of victories over both remaining members of the “big three”. He defeated Federer in Indian Wells in 2010, and Nadal in the same year in Cincinnati – and that in the moments when both were the first players in the world. This is precisely why he further emphasizes how elusive Djokovic was to him.
However, despite these successes, he did not find a solution against the current Olympic winner and record holder for the number of Grand Slam titles.
I had a feeling that I never have “cheap” points against Djokovic. You always had to play one or two shots more than against others, emphasized Baghdatis in earlier conversations about the Serbian tennis player.
The “Big Four” and the golden era of tennis
In his review of his career, the Cipranin emphasized once again that he played in, as he says, “the craziest possible time” – during the dominance of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, along with Andy Murray as the fourth member of the elite society.
In the past, he already knew how to say that many players of his generation would have a much richer trophy cabinet if they had not met that group.
In addition to Murray, Baghdatis often mentions a whole generation of exceptionally strong tennis players against whom he played – David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin del Potro, Marin Čilić, Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych… However, In his opinion, Djokovic is “a step above”.
Another confirmation of Djokovic’s dominance
Baghdatis’ words are just one more in a series of compliments that Djokovic receives from colleagues and former rivals. The Serbian tennis player has been at the top of almost all statistical rankings for years – from the number of Grand Slam titles to the weeks spent at the top of the ATP list.
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