"You can’t have someone better than Novak Djokovic" - Marion Bartoli on the 'perfect tennis athlete'

Marion Bartoli reckons that if someone wanted to build the 'perfect tennis athlete,' they do not have to look far beyond Novak Djokovic.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion's flexibility and smoothness of movement on the court are two of many reasons that make him the archetypal tennis player, according to Bartoli.

"If you will build the perfect tennis athlete you can’t have someone better than (Novak),” Bartoli said in a recent interview with Tennis Majors. “The flexibility, the smoothness, everything moves freely.”

The former Wimbledon champion also reckons Novak Djokovic has been the best men's singles player of the season, going simply by his record at Grand Slams.

In 2023, the Serb won three of the four Grand Slams (Australian Open, French Open and US Open). At Wimbledon, he reached the final but lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a marathon five-setter.

“I think we have to go deeper into the analysis and when you look at the season, there is one who won three Grand Slams and one who won one Grand Slam, it’s as simple as that. And one who played four Grand Slam finals and one who played one.”

“I think we have to just look at a broader way on how each other are handling the whole season. And out of that for now, as it stands, Novak’s doing a better job," Bartoli said.

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"I don’t think a lot of people can pretend to have the same mental strength as Novak Djokovic" - Marion Bartoli

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While Marion Bartoli admitted that Djokovic is closer to the end of his career than the start, the 38-year-old is impressed by the way he has managed himself his season, especially his mental strength to 'bounce back from anything.'

Bartoli hailed the 36-year-old as "extraordinary" in terms of mental strength, adding that very few players can match him in this regard.

"Obviously Novak is more towards the end of his career than the beginning. But I just think that the way he has managed this season… and just the mental strength and the ability to bounce back from anything – I found it extraordinary and I don’t think a lot of people can pretend to have the same mental strength as him," Bartoli said.

With his title run at the US Open, Novak Djokovic became the first player, male or female, to win 24 Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era, overtaking Serena Williams.