Novak Djokovic congratulates Alexander Ovechkin for surpassing Wayne Gretzky to script NHL history

Novak Djokovic penned a congratulatory message for Alexander Ovechkin as the hockey great surpassed Wayne Gretzky to become the leading goal scorer in NHL history. The Washington Capitals superstar achieved this feat during the match against the New York Islanders.

The GR8 chase, which was the name given to Ovechkin's (Jersey No. 8) journey to surpass Gretzky as the leading NHL goal scorer, finally came to an end during the Capitals vs. Islanders. The match kicked off with all eyes on the Russian superstar, who was level at 894 goals alongside the Great One.

The highly anticipated 895th goal came in the second period, during the Capitals' power play, when Tom Wilson passed the puck to Ovechkin, who did what he has done throughout his career, ripped the puck to etch his name in the history of the NHL as the leading goal scorer. The Russian was honored in a ceremony, which was also attended by Gretzky, who was delighted to see his record broken.

Sporting greats from all over the world congratulated Alexander Ovechkin on achieving the record even he had once deemed to be unbreakable. One of the greats was the 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who shared a photo on his Instagram story, also including the late Kobe Bryant, and penned a message for the hockey great.

"Congratulations Ove on making history! What an achievement! Respect," the Serb wrote.

Via Djokovic's Instagram

Not only the Serb but his former rival, Roger Federer, also congratulated Ovechkin via a special video message, featuring many sporting legends, posted on the NHL's social media.

On the tennis side, the 37-year-old just fell short of clinching title No. 100 at the Miami Masters final, where he lost to rising star Jakub Mensik.

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"Feels great when you are striking the ball well and winning matches" - Novak Djokovic

Miami Open 2025 - Source: Getty

Ahead of his Monte-Carlo campaign, Novak Djokovic opened up about how he felt after his Miami Open final run, which has inspired him to keep going.

"There is no doubt that it has become more difficult throughout my career but the performances in Miami, when I am playing that way, it gives me more inspiration to keep going. It just feels great on the court when you are striking the ball well and winning matches. Obviously when you start losing early you have more questions and inner voices, which are bringing doubts about whether you should keep going," he said via ATP Tour.

Novak Djokovic, seeded third, will kick off his Monte-Carlo Masters campaign against Alejandro Tabilo. Their only meeting came at the Rome Masters last year, where Tabilo stunned the Serb 6-2, 6-3.