Gael Monfils names who he thinks is the best tennis player of all time out of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

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Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer dominated tennis for a generation, winning a combined 66 Grand Slam titles.

The ‘big three’ of Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer carved out legacies within the sport that may never be topped.

The former has won 24 Major titles, including ten at the Australian Open, and continues to compete with the very best in men’s tennis.

Nadal won the French Open 14 times during his career, a record that many tennis fans agree will stand the test of time.

In terms of dominance, few can touch Federer, who held the number-one ranking for a mouth-watering 237 consecutive weeks between 2004 and 2008.

Many ATP stars tried and failed to dislodge the ‘big three’ from the top of the men’s game, as one such player now reveals which of the three players he thinks is the greatest of all time.

Gael Monfils picks Novak Djokovic as the greatest tennis player of all time

Speaking to NBA legend Tony Parker, world number 42 Gael Monfils revealed his pick for the greatest of all time on the ATP Tour.

“It’s subjective,” he said.

“For me, it’s Novak [Djokovic], he’s won everything he’s played.”

Monfils certainly isn’t wrong, as the Serb has won every ‘big title’ in the sport after Djokovic’s victory at the Olympics in 2024 completed the set.

Djokovic has also completed the career Golden Masters twice and remains the only player to have won all nine Masters 1000 events.

Monfils may have named Djokovic as the greatest of all time, but the Frenchman had a very different answer when asked to pick his tennis idol.

“My idol in fact, is Arthur Ashe, he said.

“I haven’t seen him play, unfortunately.

“No I haven’t seen him play, I’ve seen lots of documentaries about him, what he has achieved on and off the court.

“For me, he’s someone who has inspired me enormously even when I was young, and above all, what he was able to do on the court, win Wimbledon, discover Yannick [Noah], play doubles with Yannick.

“Everything he did outside for his community, the black community in the United States.”

Ashe discovered French tennis legend Yannick Noah when he was just 11 years old, kickstarting his career that saw him pick up a Grand Slam title at the French Open in 1983.

Monfils then mentioned another Roland Garros legend who inspired him during his younger years.

“After, a player I saw play that I loved was Gustavo Kuerten,” he said.

“What he was doing… as a young tennis enthusiast I didn’t watch much tennis but when he was playing there was something different and it appeared out of nowhere, his cries, his gestures.”

Gael Monfils’ head-to-head record with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

The 38-year-old picked Djokovic as the greatest tennis player of all time, but how did he fare against the ‘big three’ during their time on tour together?

Monfils’ head-to-head record with Djokovic is one of the most lop-sided in tennis history, losing all 20 of his encounters with the Serbian star.

Battling it out over 20 years, Monfils is yet to secure victory over Djokovic, losing most recently at this year’s Brisbane International.

Monfils did remarkably beat Djokovic on the Futures tour in 2004, coming through in three sets, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2, to win in Italy, 21 years ago.

The world number 42 fared slightly better against Nadal and Federer, securing six victories despite losing both head-to-heads.

• Gael Monfils 4-10 Roger Federer
• Gael Monfils 2-14 Rafael Nadal

Arguably his most impressive victory came in the semi-finals of the 2010 Paris Masters, as he advanced to the final with a 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 win.

With Federer and Nadal now retired, Monfils will need to finally break his duck against Djokovic if he wants to secure another ‘big three’ win.

He could potentially do so in the quarter-finals of the upcoming Indian Wells tournament but will first focus on his opener against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.