The debate for GOAT in men’s tennis seems to take a new turn with each passing day. While Novak Djokovic has dominated in the past few years, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal also had their peaks which lasted for a long time. As a result, there are varied opinions when it comes to picking one as a GOAT. Recently, American golfing star Nelly Korda picked the Fedal combo over Novak Djokovic, which didn’t go down well with the Serb’s fans.

 

 

During an interview, Korda revealed that she has looked up to athletes like Federer and Nadal in her career. Ignoring Djokovic for the two, Korda picked Federer’s grace and Nadal’s fighting spirit as two of the most important traits. However, Djokovic’s fans clearly felt that the Serb was getting sidelined here and vented their frustration out on Twitter.

One fan questioned the Novak Djokovic bias and brought the vaccination angle into the mix, asking, “Why are people so biased against the @DjokerNole?I didn’t like he was too selfish to be vax’d but great is great.”

An angry fan didn’t approve of Korda’s comments and while they could respect Fedal, they could not stand for Nole missing out, “I respect those who say they idolize either Roger or Rafa, but when they lump the two together, I sense there is a hidden agenda. When a player say they idolize Novak, they don’t lump him with another player.”

Further, another fan echoed a similar sentiment and said, “She works for the establishment,” likely referring to her sponsorship by Nike. Djokovic has an interesting relationship with the brand that never signed him, or according to some, the Serb said no to a few times.

Meanwhile, one of the Twitter users had it enough and didn’t bother about Korda picking Federer and Nadal over Djokovic. The comment by that fan read, “who tf cares?”
On the contrary, one of the fans pointed out the potential reason behind Korda picking the Fedal combo, saying, “Oh look, a Nike athlete saying she’s idolised both Federer (a former Nike athlete) and Nadal (a current Nike athlete). It just gets boring at this point at how much power certain sponsors have in controlling the media narrative.”

Mike Nakajima, former tennis director of Nike, said on a podcast last year that choosing Federer and Nadal over Djokovic was a conscious choice, “Those are the two guys that we want to stand behind…”

Meanwhile, Djokovic is doing everything to become a fan favorite and win over people. Recently, Jim Courier got real about such efforts from the Serbian legend.

Jim Courier identifies the hidden desire of Novak Djokovic

The Serb has traveled the world and even participated in exhibition matches to win over fans across the globe. Additionally, he regularly shares glimpses of behind-the-scenes on his social media handles. Thus, his efforts to increase his popularity were spotted well by Courier.

The American tennis legend revealed, “And, you know, he’s a guy who craved it, understandably. And it’s been a bit a little bit of an up and down relationship with him and the audiences. But at this stage of his career, it feels like he’s getting into and it’s overdue.”

Further, he went on to add, “It’s hard to believe it’s been since 2019 that he’s been here, and the energy is great. And it’s kind of been a constant. Him coming back to places where he hasn’t been for a while, the US Open last year, Australia.”

While the GOAT debate is far from settled, it remains to be seen whether Djokovic’s efforts have any bearing on his popularity. On the tennis front, the Serb is currently playing in the ATP 250 event in Geneva ahead of the French Open.