Adrian Mannarino calls Novak Djokovic the best player, says Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are aliens

Adrian Mannarino called Novak Djokovic the best player ever and stated that the Serb, along with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, were aliens.

The 34-year-old was interviewed by compatriot Nicolas Mahut and spoke about his match against the Spaniard at the Australian Open.

Mannarino and Nadal met in the fourth round of the Asia-Pacific Major this year, after beating Aslan Karatsev in the third round. The Frenchman said that he was having a massage just before the start of the match because of the aches he was feeling all over from his previous encounter.

Mannarino also stated that he hurt himself on set point during the opening set and knew the match was over for him.

"I remember, a quarter of an hour before the game, I was still having a massage because I felt that I had aches all over. I felt like I had a set of autonomy. It was a super intense set that I should have lost at the beginning. Finally, I come back well in the tie-break I have set point. I hurt myself on a set point. With the pain that I had just made myself, even if I won the first set, the match was finished," the 34-year-old said.

Nadal eventually went on to beat Mannarino 7-6(14), 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. He won the tournament by defeating Daniil Medvdedev 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in the final. The Spaniard thus won a record 21 Grand Slam singles titles.

The victory came shortly after Nadal returned from a long injury layoff, having previously missed months of tennis action. Mahut asked Mannarino if it was crazy to see the Spaniard win a Grand Slam after being out of action for several months.

The World No. 46 called Nadal an alien, along with his Big 3 contemporaries Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

"Frankly Rafa, it's been ten years since we told you that he has six months left to play, that his knees are ruined, that his foot is ruined. Then the guy, ten years later, he runs everywhere, he wins Grand Slams. These guys are aliens," Mannarino said.

The 34-year-old was also asked to give his two cents on the GOAT debate and he called Novak Djokovic the best player of all time. However, Mannarino also stated that Roger Federer could not be matched in terms of elegance of charisma.

"Me, I think the best player is Djoko. Roger, you can never match the elegance, the charisma. After judging the GOAT, it's impossible," the World No. 46 said.

Where do Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic start their 2023 season?

Rafael Nadal during an exhibition match at Santiago

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will kickstart their respective seasons at the United Cup and Adelaide International respectively.

Nadal will represent Spain in the inaugural edition of the United Cup and will play singles matches against Nick Kyrgios and Cameron Norrie during the group stages.

Djokovic is set to compete at the Adelaide International as the top seed. He will join a star-studded player field that also has Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andrey Rublev, among others.