Who Rod Laver picked as the two greatest tennis players of all time when asked in 2016

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Rod Laver is one of the most respected figures in tennis history, and he managed to win 11 Grand Slam titles during his career.

A devoted Australian, the three-time Australian Open champion has the main arena named after him at the venue for the season’s first Grand Slam.

Many tennis fans might be tempted to put Laver in the mix for the greatest tennis player of all time, and when it comes to Australian players, nobody holds a candle to him.

Laver played tennis in a completely different era, and back in 2016, he was asked who he felt were the greatest two players of all-time, with the traditional big three firmly in his thinking.

• READ MORE: What Pat Rafter previously said about Novak Djokovic

Who Rod Laver picked as the two best players of all time

Laver was asked the question in 2016, and naturally, when most people are asked, they choose between players who made up the big three.

When it comes to a Mount Rushmore-style production, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and John McEnroe also often get a mention when it comes to the greatest of all time debate.

Laver heaped praise on Novak Djokovic but did admit that he couldn’t separate the Serbian from Roger Federer when it came to the debate.

In 2016, he told ESPN, “I don’t think you put one of those two above the other when you look at their performances. You know what Roger’s record is. But the way that Djokovic has been playing over the last year or so, I would say that Djokovic and Federer are equals.

“When you look at Djokovic’s performances and his results, you just have to say, ‘Hey, this guy’s unbelievable, and how can you look past him when discussing who is the best ever?'”

Djokovic and Nadal probably remain equal in 2025

That might be a controversial thing to say, given that Djokovic is still number four in the world and has won 24 Grand Slams.

He’s now 38, and it’s hard to believe that too many people predicted that he’d still be performing so well on the tour at this stage of his career.

It’s hard to discount Federer, though, with the player still holding 103 career titles, in comparison to Djokovic, who has claimed 101.

Being the greatest ever can take in a number of factors anyway. Naturally, titles need to be won – and lots of them – but there are other things that come to the table.

Federer boasted far more natural talent on the court than Djokovic, with the Serbian one of those players who strived for a winning formula earlier in his career by working tirelessly on the practice court.

Laver was right in 2016 and now it remains to be seen what Djokovic will have actually achieved when the time does come for him to sail off into the sunset and end his tennis career.