"I think he's the best ever" - 12 years ago at Indian Wells, Novak Djokovic predicted Rafael Nadal would surpass Federer's Slam count

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are arguably the two greatest tennis players of all time, and they have forged a fierce rivalry since their first meeting in 2006. But despite being strong rivals, there has always been a lot of mutual respect between the two; both of them have often spoken highly of each other.

One such instance came at the 2011 Indian Wells Masters, when they locked horns in the final. Djokovic beat Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to win the tournament for the second time in his career, and during the trophy ceremony he called the Spaniard the best tennis player of all time.

Djokovic then reiterated that sentiment in his post-match press conference.

"Well, I think I have said what I needed to say. There is nothing behind. It's just what I think," the Serb said.

Djokovic was subsequently asked if he thought Nadal was better than Roger Federer. Back then, with his record haul of 16 Grand Slam titles, Federer was widely considered the greatest player of all time.

The Serb responded that he thought Nadal was the greatest player of all time as he had already accomplished a lot despite being only 24 years old. He also predicted that the Spaniard would overtake Federer in Grand Slam titles, stating that he had several years ahead of him to do so.

"I think he's the best ever because, even though he's 24, 25 years old, he has done so much already, you know. Many years in front of him to, you know, I think even to overtake Roger in the Grand Slam trophies," Djokovic said.

Rafael Nadal overtook Roger Federer's Grand Slam tally in 2021

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Rafael Nadal had nine Grand Slam titles to his name during the 2011 Indian Wells Masters. 12 years on, the Spaniard has taken that tally up to 22 Majors.

He won his 20th Grand Slam title by winning the French Open in 2020, thus equaling Federer's tally. Nadal surpassed the Swiss by winning the 2022 Australian Open, thus setting a new record for the most Majors won by a male player.

The Mallorcan went on to win his 22nd Grand Slam singles title at the 2022 French Open, beating Casper Ruud in the final. Novak Djokovic then equaled the 36-year-old's Major tally by winning this season's Australian Open, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in the title clash.