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Andrea Petkovic says the GOAT verdict should be based on numbers and therefore it's clear that Novak Djokovic is the greatest of all time ahead of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Djokovic, 36, is now a record 23-time Grand Slam champion - has a record 38-Masters wins - he also owns the record for the most weeks spent at the world No 1 spot.
Although Djokovic has three Slam wins more than Federer and one more Slam title than Nadal, some are arguing that there is still no definitive proof that the Serb is the GOAT, mainly because Federer and Nadal had a bigger influence on tennis.
Addressing those claims, Petkovic highlighted that Federer and Nadal having a bigger influence on tennis is a completely different conversation.
Petkovic places Djokovic as the GOAT ahead of Federer, Nadal
"I am a rational person, and there are the numbers.
If you look at them, not only has he won the most Grand Slams and Masters, not only has he spent the most weeks ranked as No 1. I don't understand the discussion. If you ask the question, who has influenced tennis the most in 2,000 years, then it's OK.
But that's not the question. The question is who is the greatest of all time, who is the GOAT, and that is Nole," Petkovic told Telegraf. At the age of 36, Djokovic looks as good as ever. Petkovic, who is 35 years old and retired from pro tennis last year, says Djokovic still playing at this level isn't surprising considering how committed and dedicated he has been to his career.
"It doesn't surprise me at all that he wins so much and is so dominant. All those things that we thought were weird when we were 19, 20 years old, meditation, yoga, nutrition, it's paying off now. He is 36 years old, his colleagues can't do it anymore, but he still can.
Psychological power is natural, hard to imitate, so I see very high chances for him. Very low chances for others!" Petkovic said.