A renowned tennis coach has shared his thoughts on who stands out as the greatest tennis player of all time.
Mike Digby, who has had the privilege of working with tennis legends Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, has offered his expert opinion on which of the three possesses the most exceptional raw talent. While the numbers might suggest that Djokovic holds the top spot, with an impressive 24 Grand Slam titles, surpassing Nadal’s 22 and Federer’s 20, Digby considers a broader range of factors in his assessment.
In a recent interview with Sportskeeda, Digby reflected on the distinct qualities that set each player apart, saying: “It is difficult because they all bring an aura. I speak about this word a lot, like an aura to the tennis court. They have a strong presence but if I was blindfolded, they’re very different auras. I would say Federer, you can feel his presence just through the pure quality of ball striking. So just the sound of the ball off the strings, the elegance that he brings when he does it, just the calm and class that he brings, you can just feel it.”
Digby was full of praise for Nadal’s presence on the court, saying: “But on the flip side, Nadal would be someone that you can hear, right? His aura comes through what you hear through the heaviness of the strike, through the grunt, obviously, through the feet that you can kind of just hear him scurrying his feet.”
He also shared thoughts on Djokovic’s unique blend of traits: “Novak has a blend of those two. He has a bit more of an arrogance to him. And I love that about him. That’s genuinely not a negative comment at all. I think that if he didn’t have that, he wouldn’t be the Novak Djokovic that we all know. It makes him who he is.”
Nevertheless, when it came to naming the best, Digby clearly favoured Djokovic, elaborating: “It makes him, in my opinion, the greatest that has ever played the game purely from a tennis standpoint. So yeah, if I was blindfolded, I think those would be my type of feel and hear really.”
Despite scoring a triumphant Olympic gold in Paris this summer, Djokovic has faced a tougher time in the major tournaments. Having seized victory at the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open last year, he ended 2024 without any Grand Slam titles.
He was defeated in the semi-finals of this year’s Australian Open by tournament champion Jannik Sinner, followed by a walkover loss to Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals of the French Open due to a knee injury. Djokovic also suffered a defeat in the third round of the US Open at the hands of Alexei Popyrin.