John Isner makes Roger Federer claim after Novak Djokovic breaks Wimbledon record
John Isner believes Novak Djokovic has surpassed Roger Federer as the greatest grass-court player in history as he chases yet another Wimbledon title.
Djokovic, 39, is bidding to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title and join his great rival Federer with eight Wimbledon wins.
The Serbian legend has only dropped three sets on his route to the quarter-finals, where he will face Canada’s world number four Felix Auger Aliassime.
Djokovic’s last win over qualifier Roman Safiullin saw him take Federer’s record for the most men’s singles match victories at SW19.
With a staggering 106 wins at the All England Club, Djokovic is now second only to nine-time women’s champion Martina Navratilova, who claimed 120 victories at Wimbledon.
Speaking on the Nothing Major podcast, former Wimbledon semi-finalist Isner said: ‘Getting to the quarter-finals, once again, at the age of 39 is just ridiculous.
‘And he still looks pretty good, he should be pretty fresh for his next match. Winning over 100 matches at Wimbledon is just absurd.
‘Most players that have decent ATP careers don’t get to 100 wins in total never mind at one of the Grand Slams, it’s unbelievable. Is he the greatest grass-court player of all time?’
Fellow former American tennis star Steve Johnson then said: ‘I don’t know… The longevity is unheard of and might never be topped again.
‘I mean, I don’t think those numbers will ever be touched. But I think it’s hard to say because look at Pistol Pete [Sampras] before Wimbledon changed the grass in the early 2000s.
‘Since then it’s become less serve and volley and more from the baseline and it’s evolved over the years.
‘It’s hard to say Novak Djokovic is not the greatest mover of all time on grass. It’s hard to compare eras because it’s changed so much over the years but yeah, he’s making an argument for potentially being the best grass-court player.
‘Definitely in this era. If he wins this one at 39 it’s a slam dunk.’
Isner believes Djokovic has already settled the debate, however, and says still competing for majors at the age of 39 is ‘otherworldly’.
‘I don’t think he’s making an argument, I think the argument has been made,’ Isner, 41, added.
‘He’s not doing it like Pete did with the serve and volley, Roger would come to the net a lot more as well. Novak is very handy at the net but by and large he’s doing it from the back of the court.
‘The fact he’s still doing this at 39 is just otherworldly. You see other athletes doing it like Messi and Ronaldo and Novak is up there with those. He’s in the Mount Rushmore of greatest athletes of all time in my opinion.’
Djokovic’s quarter-final opponent Auger-Aliassime breezed through the first three rounds before being taken to five sets by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the round-of-16.
The 25-year-old Canadian is bidding to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon for the first time and ultimately win his first Grand Slam title.
World number one and four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner remains the heavy favourite to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles.
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John Isner makes Roger Federer claim after Novak Djokovic breaks Wimbledon record
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