Those who know me well, know that I am a die hard Rafa fan. So much that I started learning tennis just to emulate his ferocious inside out forehand shots. Even though I have ended up hitting my own head instead of tennis ball.
Djokovic has now surpassed Rafa for sometime now. I die a little whenever I have to accept this. Not that I have anything against Djoko, he is an amazing athlete and celebrity. Just that I had always imagined Rafa being greatest in game.
Here are my reasons for accepting the truth.
#1 He has beaten all the great players when they were at their best.
Djokovic has better head to head records among the big three. Even though he won his first slam in 2008, he started beating them consistently from 2011 where he won everything except french open. If not for Djoko, I think Rafa and Federer would have run away with many more slams easily.
#2 He did it without being a fan favourite
Fans are divided in to either Rafa camp or Federer camp. Most often he has to face either one of them in finals and semi finals, and to win against them when their fan base being loudest is something.
#3 Beating Rafa at french open.
Beating Rafa in french open is said to be one of the most difficult thing to achieve in not just tennis but in all of sports. And the fact that Djoko has done it twice puts the final nail in the coffin on debate of who is GOAT.
Having said that, who is greatest of all time is a subjective topic. You all are welcome to have your own. May be it is Federer for you and there is nothing wrong in that. All three have given everything in tennis and hence are the greatest.
Loopy Thoughts 