Jack Sock and Steve Johnson disagree over whether Novak Djokovic cares about winning more titles than Roger Federer

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Novak Djokovic won his 101st title over the weekend at the Hellenic Championship in Athens.

Djokovic beat Lorenzo Musetti to win the Athens title, which is his second title of the 2025 season.

There has been a lot of talk about whether Djokovic will be able to win a 25th Grand Slam title, having not won a major since 2023.

However, Jack Sock and Steve Johnson believe Djokovic could have a new goal after he won his 101st title in Athens.

Jack Sock and Steve Johnson debate if Novak Djokovic actually cares about overtaking Roger Federer

The Hellenic Championship was the 101st title of Djokovic’s career, with only two players now standing ahead of him in history.

Jimmy Connors leads the figures with 109 titles, with Roger Federer in second on 103 trophy victories, just two ahead of Djokovic.

When speaking about his latest victory on the Nothing Major podcast, Sam Querrey, Sock and Johnson debated whether this will now be a motivation for Djokovic to catch up with Federer.

Querrey and Sock believe this will be a big motivation for Djokovic, who wants to keep playing until 2028, while Johnson suggested that his Grand Slam success will be enough for him.

“That was his 101st title, Fed has 103 titles. I think he wants to pass Federer for most titles…I kind of am starting to think that Novak wants that record, at least to jump Roger,” said Querrey. “Because everyone talks Roger, Rafa, Novak, it is the ongoing debate.

“It’s just one more pillar that Novak can get if he jumps ahead of Roger at 103, it’s like Novak’s got him on that checkmark too. Do you guys agree with that a bit or do you think it’s not on his mind?”

Johnson: “No, I don’t think so.”

Sock: “Yeah, I honestly think winning Athens, I think he would take a lot of pride in winning three more 250’s even to pass Roger and have that. Just because of the big three debate and everything is, for whatever reason people still say Roger, even though the stats…but Novak I think wants to cement himself in that spot.

“So if that’s another thing that he can tick off, you know check another box to make him in people’s eyes the best player of all time then I think he’s going to do it. I think he cares a lot more about these stats and the history of tennis than he probably mentions.”

Johnson: “He’s got 24 majors that’s all he needs to know.”

How do Novak Djokovic’s titles compare to Roger Federer?

Djokovic has won more Grand Slam titles than any other player in history, and is four ahead of Federer in that regard.

Despite trailing Federer in terms of total titles, Djokovic has won more majors, Masters 1000, ATP Finals and Olympic singles gold medals than his great rival.

The biggest differential between the two is in the ATP 500 and ATP 250 tournaments, of which Federer has 20 more than Djokovic.

After Djokovic withdrew from the ATP Finals, it has officially brought an end to a mixed 2025 season for the Serbian.

It will be interesting to see whether Djokovic prioritises lower-level tournaments in 2026, which would be a good indicator as to whether he is trying to overtake Federer’s trophy collection.