Boris Becker and Novak Djokovic are two people associated with tennis who have made waves during their career.
Becker managed to win eight Grand Slam titles and although he never conquered the French Open, he was the youngest male’s singles champion at Wimbledon back in 1985.
Djokovic has arguably already etched his name at the top of the greatest ever discussion. He’s on 24 Grand Slam titles and at 37-years-old, he’s still on the hunt for more big titles.
These days, Becker gives his honest opinions on tennis via social media but isn’t involved in any coaching capacities after spending some time working alongside Djokovic.
There will come a time when Djokovic calls time on his career. However, right now, he’s still striving to the best and claim that 25th Grand Slam crown.
Boris Becker shares what he noticed about Novak Djokovic when he coached him
Being number one in the world is the pinnacle for any player in sport – especially a single player sport like tennis.
Winning major titles is ultimately what you’ll be judged on but being the number one player in your field is the ultimate testament to consistency.
However, Becker has told the ATP on YouTube that he never cared too deeply about being the world number one during his days as a player.
However, he believed that he noticed how much it impacted the players when he was actually coaching Djokovic and claimed things had changed a little bit.
He said: “I’ve been player number one but I was coaching Novak Djokovic for a couple of years so I realized similar mental patterns that we all have. I’m good friends with John McEnroe, Ivan [Lendl], and Mats [Wilander], and Stefan [Edberg], we all actually get along now. Back in the day, no chance to be on the same dining table. You’ve got to be a little bit crazy, a little bit egoistic in a way that your life is tennis and that’s it.
“So to keep that intensity for a long time is difficult, but I think we all have a bit of this crazy mentality of just doing what it takes to win the match. Being part of this number one club, and you know, when you’re in your daily errands and you’re busy, you don’t think about it anymore, but all these other 28 players were heroes of mine, you know, the reason I played, it was because of all these players.
“To be amongst this very small group of players, think of the thousands of tennis players you have and only 29 made it to you know, the Mount Everest of our sport. It’s very special, it’s very unique and I checked the list, I think everyone on it is alive so it would be great to get all these number ones one day on the tennis court and just speak tennis, because I mean, we know how it’s done.”
How close is Novak Djokovic to top spot again
Well, in fairness, his chances of getting back there any time soon look pretty slim.
His recent defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp have set him back and things might get worse from a rankings point of view before they get better.
Djokovic is currently seventh on the list with 3900 ranking points, with Jannik Sinner way out in front on 11330 at the top of the pile.
Having been the world number one for a staggering 122 weeks during his career, Djokovic might not be too fussed about being the best in the business these days.
With the Serbian picking up an injury that saw him withdraw from the Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev in January, the first thing for him to do it get fit again.
Then, he will hope to take his best form into the summer and in particular Wimbledon which is where he will surely view his best chance of winning the 25th Grand Slam title given his record in England.
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