Novak Djokovic: “Misunderstood star will be remembered as the best tennis player,” says Alex Corretja

Novak Djokovic’s year has been full of records, but as many young talents threaten to start a new era in sports, Serbian time may be running out to achieve one difficult goal.

This season, he overtook Roger Federer for most of the week as the world’s number one player and won three major championships that link him to Federer and Rafael Nadal in the most Grand Slam victories (20).

His efforts to win the Calendar Slam and win all four championships in 2021, however, crashed in the U.S. Open final with Daniil Medvedeville.

Whatever Djokovic’s future brings when it comes, Eurosport expert Alex Corretja believes he built a legacy for the sport and is “always remembered because he’s probably the best” despite what people think of the man behind the baseline.

“I think Novak is kind of misunderstood all the time. I don’t know if it’s because of his nature. He’s probably doing things in court that people hardly understand, ”Corretja said.

When Djokovic, Federer and Nadal dominate the men’s game for so long, the trio is often compared and judged against each other. Corretja believes that Djokovic’s crude feeling sets him apart.

“Roger has elegance. He’s like, sweet. Everything comes naturally. And Rafa is like, probably the greatest fighter in all of history,” he said.

“And he doesn’t think, ‘Oh, I can’t break the racket because I’m in the middle of 25,000 people and millions watching TV.’

“He’s just letting his feelings out.”

Another slam makes Djokovic statistically the best men’s player of all time, as he expects to make it to Federer and Nadal’s top 21 victories.

There are still question marks around Serbia’s vaccination situation, so it’s not known if his last chance will make history at next month’s Australia Open.

Corretja agrees and thinks whether you are his fan or not, it is impossible to ignore Djokovic’s contribution to tennis.

“He deserves all the credit because for me, he gives us so much on and off the field that I can only thank him, like Roger and Rafa, for what they bring to our sport,” he said.