John McEnroe of the U.S. reacts after winning a point during his BNP Paribas Showdown friendly tennis match against compatriot Ivan Lendl in Hong Kong March 4, 2013. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
John McEnroe of the U.S. reacts after winning a point during his BNP Paribas Showdown friendly tennis match against compatriot Ivan Lendl in Hong Kong March 4, 2013. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu REUTERS

Retired tennis player and former World No. 1 John McEnroe has recently revealed his top five favourite tennis players of all time. McEnroe said that Novak Djokovic, who successfully defended his title at the All England Club on Sunday’s final against Roger Federer is fifth on his all-time top five tennis players.

In an interview with BBC Sport, McEnroe said that Djokovic is one of his all-time top-five. “My top four are Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal,” McEnroe said. “Novak is at number five and rising.”

McEnroe added that he foresees Djokovic to become dominant in the sporting world of tennis for the next couple of years as long as Djokovic remains healthy and injury-free. He hinted that the Serb’s best years are just starting and he’s (Djokovic) “getting stronger and stronger.”

Djokovic may not have won as many grand slam titles as the other players on McEnroe’s list, but the 56-year-old retired American tennis players reckoned that Djokovic will transcend era. Djokovic has won nine grand slam titles (five Australian Open titles, three Wimbledon titles, one US Open). Federer has 17 grand slam titles. Sampras and Nadal has 14, while Laver has won 11 grand slam titles.

According to McEnroe, Djokovic is a changed player now. He said that the Serb became a “better returner and volleyer,” who can attack the nets without having any qualms and can close out the points very quickly. He added that Djokovic also became tougher with his defense, which can be seen in the Serb’s matches when he takes shot after shot, plays long rallies and returns the ball back to his opponent with no trouble.

McEnroe said that Djokovic, who has won two slams this season, is capable of winning a calendar slam in the coming years. Only two players had won all grand slam tournaments in a single year. Those were Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969). In 2011, Djokovic won three grand slam titles except for the elusive Roland Garros trophy. This season, Djokovic has won two major titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, but he was yet again denied a Roland Garros trophy by Swiss tennis ace Stan Wawrinka, who beat him in five sets 7-6 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-0 last month.

Djokovic has occupied that World No. 1 spot for a total of 138 weeks. He has held the spot for 48 consecutive weeks since July 7, 2014. He has won 54 titles in his career.

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