Who Lleyton Hewitt called the tennis GOAT out of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

Lleyton Hewitt remains one of Australia’s greatest-ever tennis players, having impressed in a stacked generation.

He was part of a unique middle ground of tennis stars, forced to compete against the likes of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, and Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

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And, amongst all that, he still managed to win two Grand Slam titles.

However, when asked about who he genuinely thought was the greatest tennis player of all time, he did not hesitate to give his answer.

Lleyton Hewitt names his tennis GOAT

People could argue that his decision was influenced by being caught up in the moment, but few could begrudge him for eulogising when celebrating Federer’s career after his 2022 retirement.

He unequivocally branded him the “greatest of that time and our era”, adding: “But just his win-loss record in the mid-2000s, Roger was nearly unbeatable. It was pretty much only Rafa (Nadal) that could get him, especially on the clay.

“But most of all, he’s been a great ambassador for our sport. He’s done everything in the sport he could ever dream of.”

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However, he arguably reinforced that notion when refusing to outwardly use the ‘GOAT’ or ‘greatest’ term, speaking a year later about Djokovic.

Hewitt added, about the Serbian: “There’s going to be no comparison at the end of his career in terms of his playing ability and the records that he holds. It’s quite remarkable.

“That’s why he holds all these records, because he’s able to do it in pressure situations against the best players in the world, time and again.”

Who has the most Grand Slam titles out of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal?

What might drive debate in this particular topic is the disparity between the Big Three in terms of titles.

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After all, many will argue that, because Djokovic has 24 Grand Slam triumphs, he is the undisputed greatest of all time.

That is two more than Rafael Nadal has, and four more than Federer managed.

Not to mention that there is not a single gap in the 39-year-old’s trophy cabinet either.

Where Federer failed to win Olympic gold, and Nadal could not win the ATP Finals, Djokovic has both, and the Davis Cup, and a title from every single Masters 1000 title too.

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