IT'S NOT A PRIORITY FOR ME" SAYS RAFAEL NADAL ON NOVAK DJOKOVIC CALLING HIM THE...

Novak Djokovic statistically continues to extend his superb Grand Slam record to 24 and going into the final tournaments of the season is looking to seal the World No.1 spot again for another end of year.

Rafael Nadal recently called him the greatest of all time as the highly touted GOAT debate rumbles on, but it is something that Djokovic refuses to be drawn on.

He says he needs to stay focused and it is not a priority for him to be seen as the greatest and it is a debate for other people to have and not himself.

“No, I’m not going to say I’m the best of all time. It’s not for me to say, I’ll leave it for other people. I am very proud that my biggest rival says such things, but this discussion is for others. I am honored to be a tennis player who is leaving his name in the history of tennis. It’s not a priority for me. I need to stay focused on what is important to me.”

Rafael Nadal believes long-time rival Novak Djokovic is the greatest tennis player of all time and says “there is nothing to discuss” about the sport’s GOAT debate.

The Serb recently won a record-extending 24th grand slam singles title at the US Open, taking him two clear of Nadal in second place.

Djokovic can also boast a record 39 Masters 1000 titles, three ahead of Nadal, and the most weeks spent at world No. 1 with 392, 82 weeks more than Roger Federer in second place.

“I believe that numbers are numbers and statistics are statistics and, in that sense, I think he has better numbers than mine and that is indisputable,” Nadal told Spanish outlet Diario AS. “It is not beneath me nor do I have an ego big enough to try to disguise a reality that is not. This is the truth.

“The rest are tastes, inspiration, sensations that one player or the other may transmit to you, that you may like one or the other more. I think that with respect to titles, Djokovic is the best in history and there is nothing to discuss in that.”