Nick Kyrgios: 'Roger Federer is like Michael Jordan but Rafael Nadal is also in..'

Since 2004, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have ruled the world of tennis like no one before them. The famous trio has won 57 Major crowns since Wimbledon 2003, dominating the field and finishing the season on the ATP throne in 16 of the previous 17 years. The GOAT race between them is more energetic than ever, with Nadal matching Federer's Major record and Djokovic who will rule the ranking charts while trailing three Major crowns in comparison to his older rivals. For Nick Kyrgios, Roger Federer is still the most dominant player of all time, although he understands those who support Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the GOAT quest. For Kyrgios, watching Federer's strokes is something special, noting he has achieved a lot on every surface. At 39, Federer is still ranked in the top-4 thanks to his points from 2019, reaching the Australian Open semi-final this January and missing the rest of the season after two knee surgeries.

The Swiss had to undergo those in February and again in May after failing to take the pain away, deciding to skip the rest of 2020. Roger is working hard on preparations for the new season, hoping to get ready for the Australian Open next January and start all over from the top-5 after keeping points from the previous year thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Rafael Nadal claimed two ATP titles in 2020, suffering losses to Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem in January and bouncing back in Acapulco, just before the pandemic outbreak.

Nick Kyrgios compared Roger Federer to Michael Jordan.

More than seven months later, Rafa conquered the 13th Roland Garros crown, adding the 20th Major to his tally and matching Roger Federer. Novak Djokovic suffered tough losses at the US Open and Roland Garros but has been the player of the season, claiming four ATP titles, including the Australian Open and two Masters 1000 events. Novak will finish the season at the top for the sixth time in the last ten years, looking good to beat Roger Federer's record of 310 weeks as world no. 1 in March next year. 

"In my opinion, I have played all three of them and Andy Murray, who is right up there as well. You look at Roger Federer, he is the most dominant player of all time, but it's Rafa in this era. It's a debate you can have. A lot of players will tell you Rafa is the GOAT or Novak is the GOAT. But in my opinion, Federer is still the greatest player of all time. I think he is almost like a Michael Jordan status type thing. Roger was the guy that was so dominant on every kind of surface. I think the way he plays the game is something special," Nick Kyrgios said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3mDKgl7