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World No 21 Francisco Cerundolo described Novak Djokovic as a humble person who treats other players nicely and underlined the Serb is someone who "never belittles" anyone. Djokovic, the first man ever to win 24 Grand Slams, owns some of the most impressive records in tennis and many believe he has done enough to be undoubtedly considered the greatest of all time.
Cerundolo, 25, has been around the Tour for several years now and he has established himself pretty nicely with two ATP titles and a career-high ranking of No 19 in the world. Cerundolo occasionally stumbles upon Djokovic and his experience with the world No 1 has always been the best.
"When I see Novak, he always greets me. I've never sat down to talk to him, but I'd like to. He's not arrogant or doesn’t belittle you, none of that. He knows how you're doing and what everyone's results are," Cerundolo told Clank.media.
When asked if Djokovic is the greatest of all time, Cerundolo seemingly agreed. "In terms of results, yes, it's clear," Cerundolo said.
Cerundolo on his first meeting with Djokovic
In 2021, Cerundolo made the Buenos Aires final as a qualifier before losing to Diego Schwartzman.
Two months later, Cerundolo was in Belgrade for an ATP 250 event. In Belgrade, Cerundolo stumbled upon Djokovic for the first time, who greeted him and congratulated him on his Buenos Aires. “I had just made the final here in Buenos Aires and went to Belgrade to play the qualies.
Djokovic came to me, to say hello to me. I was ranked 110 or 120, and Djokovic came to me, introduced himself and congratulated me for my Buenos Aires final. [He congratulated me] for everything that I had won. He knew everything.
At least [he] knows everything, I don’t know about the others. He even asked about my brother, and I said to myself, 'Wow! This guy is No. 1 in the world, and yet he knows everything,'" Cerundolo said last year.