"Comparisons have really kind of taken away, a little bit at times, from just how great a tennis player they are" - Mark Petchey on the GOAT debate between Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer

Asked for his opinion on the race for the 'GOAT' (Greatest of all time) title in tennis, former player and commentator Mark Petchey said that making constant comparisons to figure out who was the better player takes away the job of watching them compete.

In a recent podcast episode on the AO show, Petchey was asked whether fans and pundits were overdoing the 'GOAT' debate and if focusing on other attributes of the players would be a more fruitful pursuit. The Brit responded in the affirmative, stating that "comparison is the thief of joy".

"I think so and I’ve said it for a while now I kind of like the inter-rivalry of the fans actually in some ways detracts a little bit from what we’ve seen from the players over the years. I mean obviously incredible to think that Novak’s overtaken Roger in terms of Major wins," Petchey said.

"It’s just been part of the story between the rivalries I do think that you know comparison is the thief of joy as it says and I think that the comparison that have constantly been coming up between everybody about who’s better, who’s greatest, have really kind of taken away, a little bit at times, from just how great a tennis player they are," he added.

The commentator also spoke about how Novak Djokovic should be given more respect since he managed to put himself in the 'GOAT' debate despite how dominant Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are.

"I kind of feel like we should be giving more respect to Novak [Djokovic] in particular for the ability to have elbowed his way in to what was just a couple of champions just going about their business, just collecting grand slams for fun and he kinda muscled in for a little bit and then Novak has obviously kind of just come in to that argument and stamped his authority on it for the last decade really in many ways," Petchey stated.

Djokovic defeated Nick Kyrgios in four sets in the final of this year's Championships for a fourth consecutive title at SW19. With the win, Djokovic recorded his seventh Wimbledon and 21st Major title.

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"We can’t have a greatest of all time because you can’t compare Rod Laver to this era" - Mark Petchey

Rod Laver (far right) at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.

In the same interview, Mark Petchey drew parallels between Rod Laver and the current era of players and said that there can't be a "greatest of all time".

The Brit stated that Laver cannot be compared to this era, with variables like the Australian playing in both the Amateur Era and the Open Era, along with the distinction of surfaces being vastly different now.

Back then, three out of four Grand Slams were played on grass, while now only Wimbledon is played on grasscourts, with two Majors (US Open and Australian Open) being held on hardcourts.

"We can’t have a greatest of all time because you can’t compare Rod Laver to this era, how many would Rod have won had if it hadn’t been the amateur and pro era, how many would he have won If it was currently on the surfaces that we have compared to three being on grass, it’s such an irrelevant argument and it detracts from everything," Petchey said.