Tennis News: Only comparison for Novak Djokovic is Tom Brady

It takes one to know one, right? That’s what all the kids are saying (I think). And Novak Djokovic clearly knows where to find other greatness, whether that excellence is in tennis or elsewhere, as he likes to surround himself with other people who have gone through the trials that one must go through to become one of the best at what they do.

One of the people that Novak Djokovic has had in his player’s box recently is former National Football League great Tom Brady. Brady won seven total Super Bowls, three more than any other player, and Brady did so with two different teams. Many consider Tom Brady to be the greatest American football ever.

Former top-five ATP player Greg Rusedski has taken notice of the similarities between Djokovic and Brady as well. On a recent episode of the Tennis Channel’s Inside-In podcast, Rusedski said that there is only one real comparison to Djokovic and that comparable player is not Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer but Brady. On the podcast, Rusedski said, “He wants to be known as the greatest of all time, not even have a debate about it. There’s only one athlete in sport I can think of, especially in American sport: Tom Brady. Look at all the Super Bowls he’s won.”

The only comparison for Novak Djokovic is Tom Brady

And Rusedski added, “Novak to me is the best athlete on the planet at the moment bar any sport. I don’t care what sport you are talking about. His consistency, what he is doing on court, and what he is doing at his age. Nobody has done before apart from Tom Brady with the Super Bowl wins.”

Rusedski has an excellent point about Djokovic being the best “athlete” on the planet. No offense to Tom Brady, but NFL players are conditioned to do certain things. Hardly any athlete, no matter the sport, has to do the things a high-level tennis player has to do. One reason Novak Djokovic has become so great is the mental side, sure, but his conditioning and endurance are ridiculous.

But likely the reason Novak Djokovic wants Tom Brady around is because Djokovic feeds off the advice and work ethic of other great players, both mentally and in physical preparation. Tom Brady has been extremely well-known for his diet and want to stick with his plan.

Djokovic also has a regime he follows, but sometimes even the best need reminders of what they need to do to remain on top of their games. And likely, the greatest players ever have their own way of conveying their methods that only the best in other fields can understand.