In response to an Opinion piece in The Age by Andrew Webster - Why we can't bring ourselves to say Novak Djokovic is the GOAT.
So Novak is a villain because he didn't take a now problematic treatment as was and is his right to medical and bodily autonomy. So far it has cost him participation in two Grand Slam events thanks to political maneuverings. He turned out to be the smarter one than the crowd that were stampeded or forced into submission to the experimental effort. One thing he also didn't do that he could have done is get a fake card indicating that he did get one. You don't think he could have done that with enough money thrown at it. His integrity didn't allow him to go there.
As for his on-court behavior. Most of the writers never experienced the battle of emotion and willpower needed to function alone on a tennis court in a competition. Getting heckling drunks tossed out of a stadium is a rational and reasonable approach to asking for respect not just for himself but also for the other fans. Somehow, the tennis media and umpire didn't seem to get that the drunks weren't the only ones in the stadium entitled to enjoy a tennis match.
As for his lack of strengths as the author of the article describes, I then begin to question the writer's knowledge of tennis. Aside from great groundstrokes, Novak has impeccable footwork and balance making his range of coverage among the very best ever. His fitness level is a weapon in itself. He has the best return of serve in the game right now.
There is more but let me finally just say, his mental strength on the court is what causes his wins to materialize. He has the complete set of physical skills combined with the mental toughness that allows him to play against his opponent and a stadium of unfriendly tennis fans and win. Most players can't handle a nasty and biased crowd where Novak just soldiers forward and wins matches. A great competitor can find a way to overcome adversity. A GOAT brings home the numbers to back it up and prove it with receipts.
We will know the outcome of the GOAT debate in tennis when Novak and Rafa finally retire. Until then, the final tally isn't proven though in almost every category Novak equals or greatly exceeds the best of our time and those that came before. Some are invested in other players and cannot imagine that their chosen player isn't the best so they choose metrics like fan favorite or best sportsman to justify the GOAT designation. It only proves that the other numbers fall short for them to resort to that.
