Roger Federer plays tennis the best, but I believe that Novak Djokovic will win most Slams & be the GOAT: Aljaz Bedene

Aljaz Bedene spoke in glowing terms about Novak Djokovic ahead of their third-round encounter at the 2022 French Open. Speaking exclusively to SportKlub, Bedene predicted that Djokovic would go down in history as the greatest of all time (GOAT), even though he considers Roger Federer's tennis the most appealing.

The GOAT debate, which has been raging on for a couple of decades, has opened up in recent years with Federer being largely inactive due to his injury. While Djokovic has broken the Swiss' record for most weeks as World No. 1, Rafael Nadal went past his tally of 20 Majors at this year's Australian Open.

When asked for his two cents on the topic, Bedene pointed out that the GOAT race is currently only between Nadal and Djokovic, even though he believes Federer plays a more attractive brand of tennis.

The Slovenian also reckons the Serb will end up with the highest number of Slams and Masters titles, which will make him the GOAT.

"I think there are only two of them in the race now," Bedene said. "OK, Federer plays tennis the best, that's for sure, but I believe that Nole will be the player with the most other slams and masters. In the end, he will be the one - GOAT."

Nadal finds himself ahead of both of his rivals in the Grand Slam count, with Djokovic and Federer currently locked on 20 Majors apiece. But it is the Serb who leads the Masters 1000 title count with 38 victories to his name, with the Mallorcan having won 36 and Federer far behind at 28.

"Novak Djokovic is an animal on the field" - Aljaz Bedene

The Serb after defeating Bedene in the third round of the 2016 French Open

Aljaz Bedene has played two four-setters so far in the French Open, beating Christopher O'Connell and Pablo Cuevas to book his place in the third round.

While admitting that he is physically a bit spent, Bedene asserted that he is in much better shape than he was at the Lyon Open a week ago.

"I will see how I will be physically, it was not easy in the first two rounds, but I won in four sets, certainly better than in five, ha-ha," Bedene said. "It still feels a little bit that I was lying down before the tournament in Lyon, but I managed to surprise myself how long I lasted in these two matches, especially since I was tired before."

The Slovenian expects his duel against Djokovic to be "much harder" while reserving concerns about his physical condition. The 32-year-old explained that he needs to be as flawless as possible in his display, given the World No. 1 will not hand him many free points.

"Novak is Novak, he is an animal on the field and it will normally be much harder," he said. "I hope to be physically OK. If so, I have to be aggressive and at the same time make as few mistakes as possible. Not many gifts will come from him. We played a few times, once I was close to winning the set, of course he is a big favorite. I will enjoy, so we will see."