"Novak Djokovic is so far ahead of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer" - Fans declare the GOAT debate 'over' after Serb's Olympic gold win at Paris 2024

Novak Djokovic won his maiden men's singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, August 4. The Serb outfought Spain's Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in the gold medal match, and according to the vast majority of tennis fans, the win marked the end of the longstanding Greatest of All Time (GOAT) debate in men's tennis.

When Djokovic broke through into the elite of men's tennis in the second half of the 2000s, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were the dominant forces. Over time though, the Serb established himself as one of the 'Big Three', regularly challenging for the biggest titles in men's tennis alongside Federer and Nadal. In recent years, Djokovic has equaled or eclipsed almost every prestigious record held by the Swiss and the Spaniard.

However, the Olympic gold in men's singles remained elusive for the Serb. His best finish at the Games before the 2024 Paris Olympics came at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he clinched bronze.

This year though, despite form struggles, the 24-time Major winner was determined to go all the way, and not even the most in-form player in Alcaraz could stop him. Djokovic served phenomenally well and held his own under pressure, ultimately unleashing some of the most devastating forehands he has hit to dash the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion's hopes.

Later, the ATP Tour's official page on X (formerly Twitter) shared an infographic with the updated 'big title' achievements secured by Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.

One set of fans opined that with Djokovic's gold medal triumph at the Paris Olympics, he has well and truly risen above great rivals Federer and Nadal, and become the undisputed GOAT.

"Honestly Novak is so far ahead of Nadal and Federer in terms of total number of big titles won, there shouldn’t really be a GOAT debate, especially when they competed against each other for majority of their career…," a fan wrote.

"Nadal fans are in complete ruins. Their one pathetic talking point has been utterly destroyed by the great Novak Djokovic. Djokovic was the GOAT without the Olympic gold, but winning it stamps his GOAT status in such a brutal and inarguable way. THE DEBATE IS OVER!!!" another fan commented.

"How was he not already the unanimous GOAT of tennis?" a fan asked.

"How is this even a debate?" asked another fan.

Another set of fans poked fun at Federer and Nadal's respective fanbases, suggesting that they will find Djokovic's Paris Olympics success hard to digest.

"I’m really interested to see the arguments Novak’s haters will bring now that they can’t count anymore on the Olympic stat," wrote a fan.

"Someone's GOAT doesn't have a gold medal despite playing in a mickey mouse era for 10 years," another fan commented, referring to Federer, who won an Olympic gold in doubles with Stan Wawrinka, but could not win gold in singles.

"Nadal – 0 ATP Finals, Federer – 0 Olympics," another fan chimed in.

"Lucky to see it" - Andy Roddick hails Novak Djokovic's "willpower" to secure Olympic gold for Serbia

Andy Roddick (Source: Getty)

Andy Roddick, another former World No. 1 and a rival of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic during his playing days, was overwhelmed with emotions after watching the Serb win gold at the Paris Olympics. Roddick took to X and declared Djokovic the "GOAT" and hailed the World No. 2's willpower to get the seemingly ever-elusive men's singles Olympic gold medal.

"The willpower. Cant explain the effort I just witnessed from Nole. GOAT. To get one last chance, tell everyone what your priority is, and the deliver against the current best. Emotional stuff. Lucky to see it. Props," Roddick wrote.

Coco Gauff, Holger Rune, Martina Navratilova and Boris Becker also poured in with their congratulatory messages for Djokovic. Next up for the Serb is a chance to eclipse Margaret Court and his joint record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles at the 2024 US Open.