Former world no. 1 Roger Federer praised the Serbian Novak Djokovic for winning the record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam last week in Paris.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner stated that what Novak did was incredible while also saying that the Serb still looks young.
“I thought what Novak did was incredible,” Federer said in London today. “I think also the way he’s doing it – he’s not the youngest anymore, we forget, he looks young and he does it in a young way, but it’s not easy. I thought it was an amazing victory and I couldn’t have been more happy for him.”
The Swiss also talked about his journey to 20 Grand Slam titles and his rivalry days with the Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
“I remember when I came on Tour and Pete Sampras reached 14, we thought OK, that one’s going to stay forever. Then I went to 15, eventually ended up at 17 and then we pushed each other to 20,” he said.
“I don’t remember who was first. And then Rafa pushed it to 22 and now Novak pushed it to 23 and it looks like he’s going to keep on doing it for a long time still to come which is great and I wish him all the best.”
Earlier, Djokovic regained the top position in the ATP rankings following his 23rd Grand Slam title.
Djokovic defeated Casper Ruud 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the final of the French Open 2023 on Sunday (June 11) in Paris.
The Serb won his record 23rd Grand Slam as he passed Rafael Nadal, 22, for the most Grand Slams titles in men's tennis history.
Djokovic’s 23 Grand Slam titles consist of 10x Australian Open, 7x Wimbledon, 3x US Open and 3x Roland Garros.
Djokovic won the French Open for the third time as he became the oldest winner in the tournament’s history at 36 years and 20 days. He is also the only player in men’s history to win all four majors on at least three occasions.
The Serb has also won the last three grand slam tournaments he has contested — he did not travel to the US Open last year due to the United States banning unvaccinated visitors.