The debate over the greatest player of all time in men's tennis has divided opinions for years, but 14-time major winner Pete Sampras has no doubt that Novak Djokovic is the one.
Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are currently tied at 20 major singles titles each, with fans and pundits continuing to argue over who should be considered the 'GOAT'.
At 34, Djokovic is the youngest of the trio and has been unmatched in consistency and success in recent years.
He has already claimed Federer's long-standing mark for holding the men's world number one ranking for most weeks.
This month, the Serbian broke a tie with his childhood idol Sampras by clinching the year-end top ranking for a record seven times.
Djokovic also fell just short of completing the Grand Slam this year, after winning the first three majors of the seasons before losing the US Open final to Daniil Medvedev.
"Seven years, for him, I'm sure he sees it as a bonus to all the majors that he's won," Sampras told the ATP Tour website.
"But I think he'll appreciate it more as he gets older. He did it at a time where he dominated two of the greats, in Roger and Rafa, and he handled the next generation of players very well — all at the same time.
Djokovic — who also won a record 37th Masters title in Paris this month — was presented with the year-end world number one trophy in Turin after beating Casper Ruud in the season-ending ATP Finals overnight.
Sampras won his 14 major singles titles between 1990 and 2002.
His tally consisted of seven Wimbledon crowns, five US Opens and two Australian Opens.
The American was ranked men's number one for a total of 286 weeks to sit third on the all-time list.
Reuters/ABC
.png?w=600)
