Novak Djokovic's father Srdjan sends strongly-worded message to Serb's critics who refuse to acknowledge his GOAT status

With Novak Djokovic being busy prepping for the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, his father Srdjan collected the 'Best Athlete Of 2024' award conferred upon him by the Association of Sports Journalists of Serbia on his son's behalf back home. The award was presented at a ceremony organized in Belgrade.

Speaking shortly after accepting the award, Srdjan Djokovic proclaimed his pride in being the father of the "best athlete in the world" while interacting with the local media.

In a strong message to critics, Srdjan Djokovic said that people should not be afraid of acknowledging his son as the best athlete "by all accounts" before adding that those who thought otherwise were wrong.

"I am happy and satisfied to be the father of the world's best athlete of all time. Don't be afraid to say that, because he is by all accounts the greatest athlete of all time. Feel free to say it, those who don't let you say it are wrong," Novak Djokovic's father said via Danas.

Notably, Novak Djokovic was for a while locked in a three-way title for most men's singles Grand Slam titles with fellow 'Big 3' members Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, both of whom have retired with 20 and 22 titles to their names respectively. The Serb, however, has already taken his number to 24 and is still actively competing for the biggest prizes in tennis.

His father, in the same media interaction, reiterated that his son had nothing left to prove and would still go down as the greatest irrespective of what he does or does not achieve during the remainder of his career.

"Whatever he does in the rest of his career, he will be the best in the world," he added.

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Novak Djokovic returns to competition at the 2025 Indian Wells Open

Novak Djokovic at the ATP Qatar ExxonMobil Open. (Source: Getty)

Novak Djokovic last played at the Qatar Open, suffering a surprise first-round defeat at the hands of Matteo Berrettini.

The Serb had earlier withdrawn from the Australian Open with injury despite a promising run that had seen him beat the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jiri Lehecka en-route to the semifinals.

Djokovic will return to competition at Indian Wells, where he is a five-time former champion. He will face stiff competition from the likes of Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner will not be competing at the Masters 1000 tournament as he is serving a three-month doping ban.