About a month ago Boris Becker was making headlines by saying that Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic “don’t particularly like each other.” But on Monday, Becker, the coach of Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, was saying the Roger Federer is the best of all-time (The German also called Federer "the all-time greatest" in this interview with Mats Wilander at the Live at Wimbledon desk).
Great respect for Roger Federer! He is our GOAT( greatest of all time ). He has changed tennis forever and will continue to do so...
Posted by Boris Becker on Monday, July 13, 2015
It’s a nice gesture from Becker, but probably does little for Federer, who played his 26th career Grand Slam final on Sunday but has now gone more than three years without winning a major.
Becker also had praise for his charge after he defeated Federer in four sets in the Wimbledon final. “‘He’s a tough cookie,” he said of Djokovic. “I’d call him a street fighter. When the going gets tough, he gets better.”
Becker said that even though Federer played brilliantly in his victory over Andy Murray in the Wimbledon semis, he still believed that Djokovic would be able to make inroads against the 33-year-old's serve in the final with his world-class return game.
“Wimbledon finals are not won in the semifinals,” Becker said. “Roger peaked in the semifinal—he couldn’t have played better… but I felt if Novak can get a hold of the return and get Roger involved in the baseline rallies, a couple more volleys, just the extra point all the time, eventually he’s going to wear him down.”