Novak Djokovic celebrates his win at the Shanghai Masters

Indian tennis great Rohan Bopanna has revealed why he considers Novak Djokovic to be the greatest player of all time.

The former doubles world No 1 emphasised Djokovic’s consistency and the barriers he has overcome, while he also labelled the Serbian the most impactful player ever.

Djokovic holds the all-time record for the most Grand Slam titles won with 24, while his great rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are second and third on the men’s list with 22 and 20 majors respectively.

The 37-year-old has also collected the most Masters 1000 titles (40), the most ATP Finals titles (seven), while he has finished the most seasons as the ATP world No 1 (eight) and spent a record 428 weeks on top of the rankings.

Djokovic also became only man to win every ‘big title’ in singles with his triumph at the Paris Olympics in August.

As well as a gold medal, Djokovic has secured all four Grand Slams, all nine current Masters 1000 events and the ATP Finals — multiple times each.

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In an interview with Clay, Bopanna did not hesitate to pick Djokovic as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis.

“Novak Djokovic. The way he has been so consistent over the years has been incredible,” Bopanna said.

“Even though I have been there with everyone else for so many years, I think Novak has managed to overcome so many barriers. The consistency he has had is fabulous.”

The Australian Open doubles champion was also asked which player has had the greatest impact on the sport.

“Novak too. Without a doubt,” Bopanna replied.

Bopanna became the oldest first-time world No 1 in tennis history when he reached the top of the ATP doubles rankings at the age of 43 years and 326 days in January.

The 44-year-old outlined his intention to continue his career for as long as he enjoys playing and travelling.

“As long as I still enjoy the competition and the travel, yes. Why not? And my family is with me at the Grand Slams. My wife is here, my daughter travels with us,” Bopanna said.

“I would never have thought that my daughter would see me play live. If I had stopped at 35, this would not have happened. She would say: ‘My dad was a tennis player.’ Today she can say that her dad is a tennis player.”

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