Yevgeny Kafelnikov has snubbed Novak Djokovic as the greatest athlete of all time but has admitted that the Serbian is the best tennis player to ever live. The former Olympic champion and world number one has claimed that basketball icon Michael Jordan claims the title of the greatest ever athlete, and Djokovic is up in the top three.
The Serbian tennis star finally clinched the Olympic gold medal that he had been vying for across his entire 21-year career after defeating Carlos Alcaraz 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–2) in Paris. Djokovic has added this medal to his 24 Grand Slam victories – which include 10 Australian Opens, three French Opens, seven Wimbledons and four US Open titles.
These honours combined with an Olympic medal crown the Serbian only the fifth man in history to clinch the legendary Golden Slam in tennis. The Golden Slam includes winning the Olympic gold medal as well as the Australian Open, French Open, US Open and Wimbledon.
Emotion poured out from the 37-year-old athlete as he completed the prestigious set in Paris, marking a pinnacle moment in an illustrious career that spans two decades.
But despite all this, Kafelnikov has claimed that Djokovic is only in the top three of the greatest athletes of all time. Speaking to Tennis Majors, the 50-year-old said: “There’s no doubt that Novak is the greatest tennis player of all time, that’s for sure. You can’t put him on the same level as Michael Jordan…I don’t think so, because I grew up idolising the greatest athlete of all time, which was Michael Jordan.
“All I wanted to do was watch him play live. To me, he’s still number one, but Novak is definitely in the top three greatest athletes of all time, without a doubt – all the accomplishments, the records he’s broken, the titles he’s won.”
With Djokovic now winning all there is to win in professional tennis, Kafelnikov is unsure where he can take his career to the next level – but admits that the Serbian may only continue playing for the love of the sport.
He said: “Novak stayed motivated because he wanted to win the gold medal. Right now, it’s going to be hard to find the motivation. He doesn’t need to prove to anybody that he is better than Federer and Nadal, that’s for sure. What next? I have no idea.
“If he wants to continue playing for the pure joy of playing, fair enough, nobody will criticise him for that. Again, he has accomplished everything, I don’t know how he can find the motivation to go further than he already has. That’s how I see it.”
When it comes to Djokovic’s thoughts on the subject, the 37-year-old admitted that he has been playing for a long time – but will only end his career when he thinks it is the right time.
Speaking before the Olympics tournament began, Djokovic said: “I don’t have retirement close in my mind, to be honest. Even though I know a lot of people would love me to retire. I think as long as there is at least one of us left in the competition, I think the era is still going.
“Of course there is a change of generations, (Carlos) Alcaraz and (Jannik) Sinner, currently they are two of the best in the world, deservedly. They are playing at a very high level. They’re very young and they are going to carry the sport in the future.
“I’ve been present for the shift of many generations in the last 15 years, I like to see that, but I think it’s also great I’m still able to play. Of course the end is nearer than the beginning, I know that. I still enjoy competition and I’ll keep going until I don’t enjoy it any more.
