Marin Cilic ripped by Serbian publication over not declaring Novak Djokovic GOAT
11/09/2023 04:30 PM
Marin Cilic took a neutral position in the GOAT debate and angered Serbian media, who weren't happy with the Croatian refusing to publicly declare that Novak Djokovic is the greatest of all time ahead of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Cilic, who has been on the pro Tour since 2005, was asked to give his take on the GOAT during an appearance on Croatian television. "It's unfavorable to compare. I shared the court with them for the last 15, 16 years. Federer came first. The three of them were great rivals for the last 10, 12 years, but Roger is a bit older than Novak and Rafael," Cilic said during his appearance on HRT. Cilic then proceeded to acknowledge that Djokovic has undoubtedly had the most success over the last 12 years. "Novak has had fantastic years since 2011 and is definitely the best in the last 12 years. But it is difficult to determine which of the three is the greatest. Each of them made a great contribution to the popularity of this sport. A lot of kids started playing tennis because of them, that is incredible. I'm glad to have been and remain a part of the best era in tennis history."
Cilic called out by Serbian media for not declaring Djokovic the GOATAfter reading about Cilic's comments, Serbian publication published an article titled: "CILIC, SAY THE TRUTH FREELY, NO ONE WILL DO ANYTHING TO YOU! Croatian afraid to say that Djokovic is the best - STRANGE statement!"
In their text, Mondo highlighted that the stats and numbers show that Djokovic has accomplished the most in tennis history and therefore is indisputably the greatest of all time. Also, Mondo suggested that some players, including Cilic, fear to publicly declare Djokovic the GOAT because they don't want to anger Federer or Nadal. "Among them is the Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic, who made a 'politically correct' statement, as if he was afraid of the reaction of Nadal or Federer. He remained reserved on question about the best tennis player of all time, which is really unnecessary," the article read. Top Croatian newspaper Index posted about Mondo's article and Cilic getting called out by Serbian media. "Serbians called out Cilic over Djokovic: He is afraid! Tell the truth, Marine, no one will do anything to you," Index's title read.
