The Swiss legend took his time to congratulate his former Serbian rival. On the sidelines of the inauguration of a renovated court thanks to the Neon Legacy initiative, set up between Roger Federer and one of his many sponsors, the Basler took the opportunity to answer some topical questions and in particular concerning the feat of Djokovic, now the only holder of the number of Grand Slam titles with 23.
“Honestly, it’s great for tennis, for sport, when tennis writes its own history and continues to enrich it as we have seen with Serena Williams, Rafa, then myself and now with Novak. It’s a great time for tennis fans, but also for players. I remember when I came on the tour and Pete Sampras hit 14 titles, we were like, ‘Okay, this one’s gonna stay forever’. Then I went to 15, eventually got to 17, and we pushed each other to 20 – I can’t remember who was first – and then Rafa pushed to 22. And now Novak pushed up to 23 and it looks like it will continue to do so for a long time to come, which is great. I wish him the best.”
