"You line up Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal's resumes, if you choose any except Djokovic, you are insane" - Andy Roddick on GOAT debate

Andy Roddick has weighed in on the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) debate involving Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.

Roddick joined the longstanding debate between the 'Big 3' and opined that Djokovic's statistical dominance, as evidenced by his surpassing Nadal and Federer in the Grand Slam tally, breaking new ground with his tenure as the World No. 1, and ATP Masters 1000 title wins, had settled the debate entirely.

Speaking on the latest episode of the 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast, Roddick asserted that while some may argue for other factors in the GOAT debate, math ultimately held the final sway.

"What’s making this GOAT thing so weird is that we never really get anything that’s like final. The Jordan/LeBron debate is like, 'Ok LeBron has less, but he played this, there are other factors involved' where it’s like, this conversation is largely like math doesn’t care about your feelings and math doesn't care about your vaccination status," he said (at 1:17:50).

Despite acknowledging Federer as his toughest opponent, the American suggested that only an "insane person" would pick the Swiss legend or Nadal as the greatest over the 24-time Grand Slam champion based on their respective resumes.

"I saw prime Federer and it was the hardest matchup that I'd ever seen. He was the best player that stacked up against my game type so therefore, he's the last person I would want to play," he said.

"But you line up the three [ Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's] resumes, if you choose any of them except for this one [Novak], you are an insane human. Very simply, that’s the way it is. Everything else is about preference of what you like to watch," he added.

Roddick went on to say that any attempt to discredit Djokovic's numbers was simply a sign of 'wilful ignorance.'

"Most of us, large scale debates, aren’t great at nuance. We like the simple headline. And Novak’s game frankly doesn’t provide that simple headline often enough. But if you can make an argument against his numbers, you’re being willfully ignorant at this point," he said (at 1:19:48).

"What Roger Federer does well is very obvious... Rafael Nadal's this gladiatorial figure, whereas Novak Djokovic is a surgeon" - Andy Roddick

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

During the podcast, Andy Roddick expressed his belief that choosing anyone other than Novak Djokovic in the GOAT debate simply boiled down to personal preference. The former World No. 1 suggested that Djokovic's style of play lacked the captivating flair associated with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

"You like the ballet, the artistry, or the blunt force trauma of Rafa. I’ve always said what Novak does so well doesn’t immediately jump off the screen to an untrained tennis eye. What Roger does very well is very obvious. It’s amazing if you know tennis as well as I do and it’s amazing if it’s the first tennis match you’ve ever watched," he said (at 1:18:48).

"Rafa, the physicality with which he can play, the RPMs, his speed, the drama of when he’s running something down, even the drama of his grunts, it all makes sense where you know he’s this gladiatorial figure," he added.

Roddick further argued that while Federer and Nadal's games were more aesthetically pleasing, Djokovic's approach could be likened to that of a "surgeon," given his ability to pick his opponents apart with precision.

"Whereas Novak, he’s a surgeon. He’s literally picking you apart. You have to make these huge risk trade offs to make an impact on him. He knows it, it might work for a little while, but he knows it and you know it that you probably won’t be able to do it over the course of three or four hours," he concluded.