For years, it was one of the hardest questions to answer in tennis: Who is the greatest of all time?
It may now be the easiest.
With his victory today, Djokovic’s claim to being the greatest has grown stronger than ever. For the first time, he is ahead of both Nadal and Federer in the Grand Slam title count, and as mentioned, he is the first man in tennis history to win at least three championships at all four of the majors. Djokovic owns winning records against Federer (27-23) and Nadal (30-29)—and, by the way, is 5-0 against Ruud. He has won every Masters tournament at least twice, something Federer and Nadal have never done even once, and he holds the most overall Masters titles with 38.
Tomorrow, the 36-year-old will return to the No. 1 ranking for his 388th career week; the next closest player to him is Federer, with 310 weeks. (Nadal is behind several players with 209 weeks atop the rankings.)
It seems silly that Djokovic needed another Coupe des Mousquetaires to become the most-likely answer to tennis' most historic question. But think of this latest Coupe as a coup de grâce.
—Ed McGrogan
