Novak Djokovic considers himself the greatest men's tennis player of all-time, and his performance over the weekend validated the argument.
The 34-year-old claimed his 20th Grand Slam title Sunday, rallying past and defeating Matteo Berrettini in a four-set match, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, to win the Wimbledon final. It was Djokovic's third straight Wimbledon championship and third straight Grand Slam victory in 2021, and he's now tied with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most Grand Slams in men's history.
New York Times tennis correspondent Christopher Clarey, the author of a new book titled, "The Master," joined After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Monday to discuss Wimbledon and Djokovic's response to the GOAT debate.
"I think in tennis, it's a tricky debate to really resolve because the game has changed so much," Clarey said. "So many of the great players of the past didn't play all of the Grand Slam tournaments. They had very short amateur careers when they were eligible for those tournaments, before everything went open in 1968. So, it's kind of hard to compare to the players of the past.
"And the style of play that Novak plays -- which is very baseline-oriented with modern technology and the rackets -- I don't think it would've worked very well against players of earlier eras and the style of play at that time. But he's such a great athlete, I'm sure he would've adapted -- just like Federer and Nadal would've.
"But as far as right now, what's in front of us in terms of the last 30-40 years or so, you've got to look at what Novak's done of this era, at least, in the men's game and say he's the most successful player. Even though he's tied at 20, everything else he's done and his head-to-head record against Nadal and Federer, he leads them both."
Djokovic is now in position to become the first person since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four Grand Slam events in a single calendar year. He'll look to accomplish the feat at the U.S. Open in New York, which is scheduled to begin on Aug. 30.
The entire conversation between Clarey and Lawrence can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow After Hours With Amy Lawrence on Twitter @ALawRadio and @AfterHoursCBS, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.