Former World No. 4 Tomas Berdych recently opined that Roger Federer is the GOAT (greatest of all time) ahead of his great rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.Berdych said that Federer is a bigger icon than Nadal and will leave a greater mark on the sport than Djokovic."Those who wanted to compare the greatest aces by numbers would find arguments for different players. The number of Grand Slam titles may be the most objective measure, but there are athletes who have left a huge mark. I think Roger will leave a bigger dent than Djokovic. I think he is a bigger icon than Nadal," Berdych said in an interview with iDNES. "Maybe because he started this great era. What he did for tennis cannot be outweighed by any results." Many fans on Twitter, however, vehemently disagreed with the Czech's comments, with one user arguing that Federer doesn't even feature in the GOAT debate."When both Nadal and Novak have surpassed him, and suddenly GS titles don’t count. Federer is an icon, no doubt about that but he’s out of the GOAT debate for sure," the fan tweeted.Ashish@AshishOdysseus@gigicat7_ When both Nadal and Novak have surpassed him, and suddenly GS titles doesn’t count. Federer is an icon, no doubt about that but he’s out of the GOAT debate for sure.924@gigicat7_ When both Nadal and Novak have surpassed him, and suddenly GS titles doesn’t count😂. Federer is an icon, no doubt about that but he’s out of the GOAT debate for sure.Another fan pointed out that Nadal has many more social media followers than the Swiss icon."Nadal has a much bigger following on social media than Federer so don’t see how he has much response? So subjective," they wrote.Carlos Alanis@royalbloke@EmilyN7914 @AshishOdysseus @gigicat7_ Nadal has a much bigger following on social media than Federer so don’t see how he has much response? So subjective5@EmilyN7914 @AshishOdysseus @gigicat7_ Nadal has a much bigger following on social media than Federer so don’t see how he has much response? So subjectiveHere are a few more reactions:Yogesh janghu@King72384612@AshishOdysseus @gigicat7_ Nobody said GS titles don’t count but they aren’t the only thing that counts.2@AshishOdysseus @gigicat7_ Nobody said GS titles don’t count but they aren’t the only thing that counts.Raduconnor 🫠@slay_suweiIf you were Tomas Berdych, you would say that in fairness twitter.com/gigicat7_/stat…Luigi Gatto@gigicat7_Tomas Berdych on the GOAT debate: "The amount of GS titles might be the most objective criteria, but the impact Federer had on the game is bigger than Djokovic's. Federer is a bigger icon than Nadal. What Roger did for tennis cannot be compensated by any result."1532Tomas Berdych on the GOAT debate: "The amount of GS titles might be the most objective criteria, but the impact Federer had on the game is bigger than Djokovic's. Federer is a bigger icon than Nadal. What Roger did for tennis cannot be compensated by any result."If you were Tomas Berdych, you would say that in fairness twitter.com/gigicat7_/stat… https://t.co/TOQaU4vMymAmeliaS@AmethystShiningDid Federer also set up the PTPA to benefit underprivileged tennis players?Nope, that was #Djokovic. Berdych please keep quiet. twitter.com/gigicat7_/stat…Luigi Gatto@gigicat7_Tomas Berdych on the GOAT debate: "The amount of GS titles might be the most objective criteria, but the impact Federer had on the game is bigger than Djokovic's. Federer is a bigger icon than Nadal. What Roger did for tennis cannot be compensated by any result."81Tomas Berdych on the GOAT debate: "The amount of GS titles might be the most objective criteria, but the impact Federer had on the game is bigger than Djokovic's. Federer is a bigger icon than Nadal. What Roger did for tennis cannot be compensated by any result."Did Federer also set up the PTPA to benefit underprivileged tennis players?Nope, that was #Djokovic. Berdych please keep quiet. twitter.com/gigicat7_/stat…DjokerSur@SurDjoko@IgorMar64043942 @gigicat7_ How could "the impact" be measured? @tomasberdych was always so irrelevant as things he said now.1@IgorMar64043942 @gigicat7_ How could "the impact" be measured? @tomasberdych was always so irrelevant as things he said now.Kim@Saint_Gerrard@AshishOdysseus @gigicat7_ We all knew that was coming lol.@AshishOdysseus @gigicat7_ We all knew that was coming lol.Emily Hall@EmilyN7914@AshishOdysseus @gigicat7_ How so when he set the standard that both Nadal and Djokovic had to follow. No player that I have ever seen gets the response that Federer gets. Titles + impact means that Federer will never not be part of any debate. Listen to the players. They know. Real recognizes real.501@AshishOdysseus @gigicat7_ How so when he set the standard that both Nadal and Djokovic had to follow. No player that I have ever seen gets the response that Federer gets. Titles + impact means that Federer will never not be part of any 🐐debate. Listen to the players. They know. Real recognizes real."There were a lot of people who watched matches or started playing themselves because of his skill and performance on the court" - Tomas Berdych on Roger FedererTomas Berdych congratulates Roger Federer at the 2018 Australian Open - Day 10In the same interview with iDNES, Berdych pointed out that Roger Federer inspired many youngsters to take up the sport. However, he could also understand why others might find "something special" about Nadal and Djokovic. "There were a lot of people who watched matches or started playing themselves because of his skill and performance on the court," Berdych said. "That's what makes him superior to others. Though of course, I can understand if a fan finds something special about Nadal, Djokovic or other players."