"It's Novak Djokovic... The guy's got the game, people gravitate towards him" - When John McEnroe predicted Roger Federer's successor as World No. 1

John McEnroe once shared his prediction for who would succeed Roger Federer as the World No. 1. The American legend placed his bets on Novak Djokovic, favoring him over Rafael Nadal.

During the 2007 Italian Open, McEnroe was asked for his insights on who could claim the coveted World No. 1 ranking after Federer. Given his remarkable dominance on tour, the Swiss had a stranglehold atop the rankings since February 2004.

McEnroe asserted that, although Rafael Nadal had the potential to take over from Federer if he remained consistent and expanded his success beyond claycourts, he leaned towards Novak Djokovic.

"I think the window is basically Roger is there, sort of up in the air what's exactly going to happen. Nadal, there's a window if he can keep this consistency here and do well enough on some other surfaces," McEnroe said in a press conference.

"If I had to pick a guy it's Djokovic. This guy has got game. He's got some pretty good hands. It's -- I'm playing like a horse's a** so I'm not one to say, but -- and physically I can't move at all," he added.

However, the American also identified an area for improvement in Djokovic's game, asserting that the Serb needed to exert more pressure on his opponent during crucial points, citing the example of Nadal's "smart" approach in such situations.

"But with him, you see sometimes like he had some Love-30s and some breakpoints. That's when you got to push in, to me, and I'm not even saying like come right in, because I know guys don't do what I did or whatever," he said.

"But standing closer and put pressure, because Nadal has a tendency -- which is smart. When he gets in those positions he'll put up a first serve, not at much on it, get it in. That's the one you got to be aggressive on. So guys sort of get back, let him in the point," he added.

Nevertheless, McEnroe acknowledged that this was a minor adjustment and expressed his belief that Djokovic possessed the necessary game, attitude and ability to draw people towards him, making him the right pick for the Swiss' successor.

"That, to me, is small tactics, but the guy's got all the game, the attitude. People gravitate towards him. He'd have to be the guy I would pick if it was the next guy," McEnroe said.

Roger Federer eventually lost the World No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal in August 2008, bringing an end to his record 237 consecutive weeks at the top spot.

Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, attained the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in July 2011, commencing his historic reign of 425 weeks (and counting) atop the ATP rankings.

---

How Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer fared at 2007 Italian Open

Day Thirteen: The Championships - Wimbledon 2019

Roger Federer, the top seed at the 2007 Italian Open, made a strong start to his campaign with a commanding 6-3, 6-4 victory over Nicolas Almagro. However, his run at the Masters 1000 event was short-lived, as Filippi Volandro pulled off a stunning 6-2, 6-4 upset over the Swiss in the third round.

Fifth seed Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, edged past Robin Soderling 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in his opening match in Rome. The Serb then beat Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 7-5 to set up a blockbuster quarterfinal clash against two-time defending champion Rafael Nadal.

The Spaniard ended Djokovic's run, securing a dominant 6-2, 6-3 victory. Nadal went on to clinch his third consecutive Italian Open title, beating Fernando Gonzalez 6-2, 6-2 in the final.