Roger Federer had the greatest influence on tennis but the best, in terms of results, will definitely be Novak Djokovic – Aljaz Bedene

Former Slovenian tennis player Aljaz Bedene reckons Roger Federer had the greatest influence on the game but rated Novak Djokovic as the best in terms of results. Federer and Djokovic are considered the best of the generation along with Rafael Nadal.

Roger Federer recently retired from the sport and won a total of 103 ATP titles, including 20 Grand slam titles. Novak Djokovic has so far won 90 ATP titles and has 21 Major titles under his belt. Nadal tops the list of Grand Slams with 22 titles and he has won 92 ATP titles.

Speaking to Sportklub, Bedene said, “Let’s not close our eyes, Roger had the greatest influence on tennis. The best, in terms of results, will definitely be Djoković. I am of the opinion that after the retirement of all the members of the elite trio, the Serb will have the largest number of Grand Slams, Masters, maybe even the number of tournaments. I have played with all three at least twice, “Nole” has the hardest ball, he is perfect.”

Bedene also shed light on the relationships he shared with fellow tennis players on the tour in his career.

“I remember being recognized and greeted by even the best, such as Rafa Nadal at the last US Open. Despite their greatness, tennis greats are still only human; I got along well with everyone for the most part. I was in the best relationships with Robert Bautista Agut, Damir Džumhur and, of course, most of the Serbs, except for Novak Djokovic. We didn’t have the same schedule,” he revealed.

Bedene feels he had a good chance to beat the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray but his impetus was perturbed by Covid-19.

“I did. Before Covid. I played the 3rd round of Flushing with Zverev and lost in four sets, two of which were overtime. I was in the quarter-finals in Vienna, tied with Tsonga for the title in Metz, then the following year in February I beat Tsitsipas and lost to Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals. If I had played a good spring, I could have been close to the top 20, but then we found out at Indian Wells that the tournaments were canceled. I have never felt so well prepared and then comes the coronavirus,” he said.