Tennis analyst Steve Weissman recently took on the subject of Novak Djokovic’s place amongst the greatest claycourters of all time. The American believes that while the Serb is not exactly at the level of his archrival Rafael Nadal on the dirt, he is up there with the best of the best.
Djokovic has arguably the most statistically unassailable resumé in tennis history. The 24-time Major winner is an all-round performer on the three most prevalent surfaces- hard-courts, grass and clay. While the Serb’s win percentage on clay is less than that on hard and grass, he still has tasted a substantial amount of success on it. In that context, Tennis Channel recently discussed Novak Djokovic’s credentials on their live segment. Their host, Steve Weissman, would later repost the debate on his X (formerly Twitter) handle to give his opinion.
The American mentioned Rafael Nadal and Chris Evert as his “clay GOATs”, before claiming the Serb was behind the duo in the pecking order.
The clay 🐐’s are Rafa and @ChrissieEvert – but Novak is certainly one of the greatest after that.. https://t.co/C033jewA6L
— Steve Weissman (@Steve_Weissman) May 10, 2024
Nadal and Evert both have astounding records on clay. The Spaniard has won a record 14 French Open titles, with a 97.4% (112-3) win percentage. He also holds at least ten triumphs at four different claycourt tournaments (Roland Garros, the Monte-Carlo Masters, the Barcelona Open and the Italian Open).Evert, on her part, holds the Open era record for most consecutive wins on clay at 125, and a record 94% career win percentage on the dirt, which is a clear cut above Nadal’s 91%. The American has also won a record 70 titles on the surface, seven of which came at the French Open. To this day, no woman singles player has won the clay-court Major more than her.
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