Nick Kyrgios has declared Roger Federer the GOAT of tennis. The Swiss star has long been pitted against long-time rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the debate of who is the best male player of all time. He received a vote in his favour from the former world No 13 during an Instagram Q&A.
Roger Federer has often been regarded as the GOAT, though has faced tough competition from Nadal and Djokovic.
The Big Three are all currently tied on 20 Grand Slams each, making the race to become the greatest male player of all time even closer, with an argument for all three players.
While many believe the debate can’t truly be settled until Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are all retired, one top player has given his backing to the 40-year-old.
Kyrgios, who has previously expressed his preference for the Swiss tennis star, was asked for his opinion on Federer during an Instagram Q&A, taking the opportunity to brand him “the GOAT.”
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“The goat, I was very intimidated the first time I saw him and after that he always continued to have that aura that no other player has,” Kyrgios wrote.
“He is a great and friendly guy with a great sense of humour”.
The 26-year-old has previously spent close time with Federer during previous editions of the Laver Cup, with the pair usually staples of Team Europe and Team World respectively.
Although the former world No 1 was unable to compete this year following a third knee surgery, he and Kyrgios have often appeared together to publicise the Ryder Cup-style event.
Although the Australian branded Federer the GOAT, he did shun Federer in favour of Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori earlier in his Q&A.
The first question he answered was: “who is the most difficult opponent to deal with?”
Kyrgios answered: “Murray / Nishikori,” with all the Big Three members noticeably absent from his response.
The Aussie has only beaten Murray once in six occasions, in the midst of his hip injury woes, while he has lost allfour encounters with Nishikori.
