Roger Federer’s Former Coach Downplays Novak Djokovic’s Successes Discussing GOAT Debate

Although Djokovic has 24 major titles under his belt, Ivan Ljubičić believes off-court impact matters, too.

Novak Djokovic is often considered the G.O.A.T. of men’s tennis thanks to his 24 major titles. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

One of the biggest debates in men’s tennis continues to be who the true GOAT is.

The sport’s “Big Three” of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic tend to be the three names listed in this conversation. For decades, Federer stood out above the rest with his 20 major wins. Then, Nadal surpassed him with 22 major titles and seemingly took the GOAT title with him. Since both of these greats have retired, though, Djokovic overtook them and captured 24 major titles and continues to play in hopes of winning the elusive record-breaking 25th major title.

Based on numbers alone, it seems obvious that Djokovic is the undisputed GOAT in men’s tennis. It’s going to be difficult for someone to pass him (although Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner seem to be on that trek now). Yet, the 38-year-old’s legacy is continuously undermined based on his impact off the court when compared to Federer and Nadal. The latter two were arguably bigger superstars internationally than Djokovic has been.

Federer’s former coach Ivan Ljubičić recently spoke about this GOAT debate on the Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast last week. To Ljubičić, Djokovic is clearly not the greatest of all-time because it’s hard to compare to Federer and Nadal’s impact off the court.

“Obviously Novak won the most, it’s clear. But for me, the impact that Roger had on the game, and Rafa, in different moments—it’s huge. Maybe bigger than Novak,” Ljubičić said.

While Ljubičić may be right about Djokovic’s lesser impact outside of the tennis court, it’s hard to argue that he isn’t the greatest on the court. At 38 with 24 majors under his belt, Djokovic continues to challenge the sport’s top competitors. He just beat Sinner in the semifinals at the Australian Open and faced Alcaraz in the final (losing in four sets). He continues to put himself in winning positions at his age, something Nadal and Federer struggled to do at the same level in their later years on the court.

Djokovic comments on long-term tennis goals amid retirement rumors

As for how long Djokovic intends to play, he’s been preaching on longevity in the past week or so when speaking to reporters. Ahead of Indian Wells this week, Djokovic expressed his desire to keep playing for “as long as I have that fire and flare and quality, and also motivation to do that.”

Djokovic doubled down on his future tennis plans on Saturday when sharing that he has a goal of defending his Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles in 2028.

“That’s one of the long-term goals to reach the Olympics. That would be nice,” Djokovic said. “... It’s still a long way. I think that at my age and at my stage of my career that every year seems like longer period than anyone else who’s younger. I’ll try to make it, definitely one of the motivations.”

Novak Djokovic: “My goal is to reach the 2028 Olympics. It’s definitely one of my biggest motivations.”pic.twitter.com/t0exdCtrNS

— Danny (@DjokovicFan_) March 8, 2026

The Summer Olympics are still over two years away, meaning Djokovic would be 41 when arriving in Los Angeles. As long as he avoids injury and doesn’t decide to retire before then, it wouldn’t be a shock if he ends his career there. His longtime friend and opponent Andy Murray retired from tennis at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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