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Daniil Medvedev, Sebastian Korda, and other ATP players recently shared their thoughts on who is the greatest athlete of all time (GOAT) outside of tennis.
During the 2023 Shanghai Masters, players were asked to settle the GOAT debate outside of their own sport. While basketball legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant were mentioned the most, a few soccer players also made it to the list.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, and Hubert Hurkacz chose six-time NBA champion Jordan. Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev went with former LA Lakers superstar Bryant.
Medvedev, being a soccer enthusiast, picked soccer players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Just because I like soccer, I would say Cristiano and Messi, together combined is the GOAT. Let's do it this way. I need to say something," Daniil Medvedev answered.
However, during a recent Instagram live session, Medvedev chose Messi over the Portuguese, likening the former to Roger Federer.
"I respect both of them. But Leo does things with the ball that Cristiano can't do. In this, Messi is like Federer. You don't understand how they do it," he said.
Argentinian Diego Schwartzman, meanwhile, was quick to choose compatriots Lionel Messi and the late Diego Maradona as his greatest athletes. However, he found it challenging to pick just one between the duo.
"The GOAT? Outside [of tennis]? Messi and Maradona. Easy question! Argentinian, Messi and Maradona. The Double M," Schwartzmann stated.
On the other hand, Sebastian Korda went for Tiger Woods, the legendary American golfer who has won a record 82 PGA Tour wins.
Daniil Medvedev suffers early exit at Shanghai Masters, Sebastian Korda knocked out in SFs
Daniil Medvedev suffered a third-round exit at the 2023 Shanghai Masters while Sebastian Korda had a smooth run to the semifinals but was eventually defeated by Hubert Hurkacz.
Following an impressive runner-up finish at the China Open, Medvedev registered a straight-sets win over Cristian Garin at the ATP Masters 1000 before losing to Sebastian Korda, 7-6(8), 6-2. It marked his second defeat against the American this year, having lost their Australian Open third-round encounter earlier.
Korda cruised to the quarterfinals without dropping a set. He then ended up on the winning side in a thrilling face-off with compatriot Ben Shelton, 6-7(10), 6-2, 7-6(6). However, Hurkacz proved to be too strong for the American, who won the semifinal 6-3, 6-4.
Hurkacz will face fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the final on Sunday, October 15.
