{"id":1588,"date":"2026-01-10T20:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T20:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1588"},"modified":"2026-01-10T20:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T20:00:09","slug":"novak-djokovic-defended-by-former-british-no-1-as-he-gives-his-ultimate-goat-verdict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1588","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic defended by former British No 1 as he gives his ultimate GOAT verdict"},"content":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic<\/a> has long been accused of being an agitator at the top of the men\u2019s game, but former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has claimed any such accusation directed at the Serbian is misplaced.<\/p>\n

Djokovic has been vocal in his criticism of tennis chiefs and has backed claims for players to be handed more prize money at all levels of the game, with his decision to lead the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) evidence of his passion around this issue.<\/p>\n

The PTPA have taken on the tennis authorities and launched a legal petition in a bid to push for more prize money at Grand Slam events, but Djokovic was not happy with the direction of the organisation and confirmed he would quit his role in the PTPA in a big announcement to start 2026.<\/a><\/p>\n

Djokovic suggested at the Joy Forum in Saudi Arabia<\/a> that he wants to \u2018shake up tennis\u2019 as he hinted there are plans in place that will change the current make-up of the sport, as he admitted these new developments would \u2018upset a lot of people\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe things that are happening that I can\u2019t openly speak about at the moment, but I feel like in the next couple of years, I feel like tennis is a sport that can be and will be transformed,\u201d said Djokovic last October.<\/p>\n

More Tennis News<\/h2>\n

Novak Djokovic to miss another big event due to \u2018extremely inconvenient date\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cI want to be part of that change and not just part of that change, but I want to be playing when we rejuvenate our sport and set the platform that is going to be there for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those comments fuelled speculation that Djokovic may be open to leading a breakaway tennis tour, but former British No 1 Greg Rusedski does not believe that is a realistic prospect.<\/p>\n

The 1997 US Open finalist also hit out at Djokovic\u2019s critics in a passionate defence of the Serbian\u2019s contribution to tennis in Episode 5 of his podcast, Off Court with Greg<\/a>, that will be released on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s an agitator. I think he stands by his morals and his beliefs and you have to admire that,\u201d said Rusedski.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at Covid. He refused to take the jab and basically stood his ground throughout and you have to applaud him for the way he handled that situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could have cowered early on, but he stuck to what he believes and that\u2019s why he\u2019s such a great champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guy is nearly 39 years of age, we need to keep him in the game for as long as we can. He is the greatest of all-time, no doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rusedski believes Djokovic will still believe he can contend for the Australian Open title this month, as the 24-time Grand Slam-winning legend chases a final major title that could complete his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is the GOAT when it comes to preparation,\u201d added Rusedski. \u201cNutrition, fitness, not leaving any stone unturned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always like a little bit of chocolate and too much caffeine, but Novak doesn\u2019t allow himself anything. He is obsessive about perfection, doing whatever it takes. He is always trying to find solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs the age thing against him. Of course it is, but I can\u2019t wait to see what happens in Australia. You can never discount great champions.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ NEXT: Aus Open projected men\u2019s seeds: Alcaraz, Sinner top 2, Djokovic cushy despite inactivity, De Minaur, Musetti boosts<\/a><\/p>\n

The post Novak Djokovic defended by former British No 1 as he gives his ultimate GOAT verdict<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic has long been accused of being an agitator at the top of the men\u2019s game, but former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has claimed any such accusation directed at the Serbian is misplaced. Djokovic has been vocal in his criticism of tennis chiefs and has backed claims for players to be handed more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1588\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}