Novak Djokovic is considered by many as the greatest player of all time but former star Gustavo Kuerten has not included the Serbian in his personal list of the greatest players in history
Former World No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten has snubbed Novak Djokovic in his list of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Djokovic has a mightily impressive record of 24 Grand Slam wins, including ten Australian Open titles and seven Wimbledon championships. However three-time French Open champion Kuerten did not include the 37-year-old in his personal rankings.
Kuerten, fondly known as ‘Guga’, led the ATP Rankings between 2000 and 2001 after securing the title at Roland Garros in 1997, 2000, and 2001. The 48-year-old retired in May 2008 and has now revealed his favoured list of tennis legends.
The lucky few to make Kuerten’s list include Swedish icon Bjorn Borg, American heroes John McEnroe, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, and Swiss icon Roger Federer. Spanish star Rafael Nadal also made the cut, turning Kuerten’s list into a top six, but there was still no room for current Olympic champion Djokovic.
“Why? Because of my origins,” he said. “My brother with a poster of Borg and me with a poster of McEnroe. I can speak today and people will listen to me thanks to these two players.”
Beyond mere technical prowess, Kuerten recognised some of the titans for their larger-than-life personas, stating: “Sampras was from another galaxy. Agassi was a more provocative type who went beyond tennis and reached people.”
Sampras won seven Wimbledon titles and 14 majors in his illustrious career. Agassi has four Australian Open victories under his belt, along with major wins at Wimbledon, the US and French Open.
