Novak Djokovic gave credit to longtime rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal after lifting a record 23rd Grand Slam singles title with his win over Casper Ruud at Roland Garros.
The Serb now leads Nadal by one major title and the now-retired Federer by three.
But there was no gloating from the current king of the courts, who might just have half an eye on the rare calendar-year Grand Slam sweep after winning trophies this season in both Melbourne and Paris.
“The truth is that I’ve always compared myself to these guys, those two are the two greatest rivals I ever had in my career,” Djokovic said.
“They have actually defined me as a player. They contributed to all the success I’ve had, in a way, because of the rivalries and the match-ups that we had.”
Djokovic leads both of the other greats – 27-23 versus Federer and 30-29 against Nadal.
The 36-year-old – a year younger than Nadal and nearly five years the junior of Federer – said he spent “countless hours of thinking and analysing and what it takes to win against them on the biggest stage.
“It was just those two guys occupying my mind for the last 15 years – quite a lot in a professional sense.
“It’s amazing to know that I’m one ahead of both of them in Grand Slams. But everyone writes their own history. I still think that everyone has a unique journey that they should embrace and stick to.
“In the last 20 years, it’s reached the golden era of men’s tennis, as people like to call it.
“I’m really grateful to be part of this group of guys.”
