The main topic in tennis for years is who is the greatest player in history: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. Former Croatian tennis player Ivan Ljubičić (46), who was a guest on the show Off Court With Greg Rusedski, also offered his opinion on that discussion.
Since he was Federer’s coach, Ljubičić started his analysis with the Swiss.
Against Roger it was complicatedhe always did something different. I remember that at the beginning of 2005 I played against him four times in three months and each match was different. After a loss I would always tell myself that I know what to do next time, recalled Ljubičić, reports Index.hr.
I remember Rotterdam, it was a big fight, 7:6 in the third set and I had my chances. In Dubai, he served and played more than usual. Then in Indian Wells he repeated the shots. Every time it was different. You have to adjust to his game, and he’s always better at what you do. That’s why it was very difficult to play against him, explained Ljubičić, which you can listen to in the attached video from 34:40.
Ljubičić then reflected on his playing experience with Djokovic.
I’m with Novak, if I’m not mistaken, last played in 2010. When he was at his peak, he was perhaps the most difficult for me to play against. He relies on a good serve and easy points on my serve, he said.
It’s not that I didn’t win easy points, but on the other hand, everything came faster when I was serving. You feel like it’s suffocating you, because he doesn’t hit direct points, but pushes you left-right, left-right and you keep running. You never have a clean shot. You don’t even get into a situation where you take risks. It was really suffocating, stressed Ljubičić, who won ten trophies in his career and was the third player in the world in 2006.
Unlike Djokovic, against Nadal the feeling was different.
Against Nadal I had the feeling that you have time. He stands far behind on the return so in a way he lets you do your thing, especially on the serve. I felt more comfortable, said Ljubičić.
It is obvious that I lost more matches than I won from him, but i beat him twice. I always thought I had a chance. Also, he doesn’t serve that well so you’re always getting into shot changes. Of course it was difficult, but I thought it was not impossible, he added.
Conclusion: Novak by numbers, Roger by influence
In the end, the Croatian tennis player, now a coach and analyst, expressed his conclusion in the discussion about the greatest of all time.
Everyone is different and it’s really hard to say who is better, began Ljubičić, and then explained his position in more detail.
It is obvious that Novak won the most, that is clear. But for me, the biggest influence on the game was Roger, and at different times Rafa. It’s big, maybe even bigger than Novak’s. But what exactly is GOAT? If we look at the results, Novak obviously won the most. However, Roger was definitely the biggest influencewhich is still felt today, at least in my opinion, concluded Ljubičić.
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