"Novak Djokovic doesn't count, he's 40" - Frances Tiafoe makes bold claim about Serb amid Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner dominance

Frances Tiafoe recently dismissed Novak Djokovic as the 'third guy' who can potentially challenge the prevailing dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in men's tennis. While Tiafoe acknowledged the Serb's status as one of the 'GOATs' and laid bare his admiration for the former No. 1, he cited the 24-time Major champion's age as the reason behind not considering him as someone who can challenge the Spaniard and the Italian.

In a recent interview with Olympics.com, Tiafoe opined that he is motivated by the fact that a third and fourth player is yet to consistently pose a threat to Alcaraz and Sinner, who have shared the last eight Majors between them along with a host of other ATP 500 and Masters 1000 events.

"There's a couple more guys who've got to join them. I'm not saying beat them, but there's got to be (other) guys - and that motivates me. I’m like, yo, who's that third guy? Who's that fourth guy?," the American said.

Next, the former No. 10 delivered his take on Novak Djokovic, saying:

"Novak (Djokovic) doesn't count. He’s 40. I love him, but doesn't count. He’s 40. He's a GOAT, he's the best player of all time. He's not with those guys."

Frances Tiafoe hopes to emulate what Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray did back in the days of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's dominance

Frances Tiafoe at a Mubadala Citi DC Open 2025 press conference (Source: Getty)

In the same interview, Frances Tiafoe recalled how Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were the two ATP stars who regularly began to challenge Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's dominance from the late 2000s. From the mid to the late 2000s, Federer and Nadal shared the spoils at men's tennis' most prestigious events. However, the Serb and the Brit became formidable forces over the years and eventually broke the duopoly.

"Who is that other guy or two to be there and maybe beat these guys? That would be the quote-unquote Novak and (Andy) Murray - before Novak went and did what he did. Who are those guys? And there's a bunch of guys who can be that guy, right? So that's really motivating me. It's like, ‘See big picture.’ That's motivating," Tiafoe said.

Tiafoe gave the interview in the buildup to this year's Japan Open. The American's campaign in Tokyo though, didn't last long, as he was ousted from the tournament in the very first round by Marton Fucsovics. In the immediate aftermath of the shocking result, Tiafoe's frustrations boiled over and he took his anger out on his racket, smashing it four times.