Roger Federer might be enjoying a huge wave of success right now but former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek believes Novak Djokovic is still the more complete player.
Federer recently returned to the No. 1 ranking en route to winning his third title of the year at the Mercedes Cup last week and will be looking to make it four at the Halle Open where he is currently in the quarterfinals.
Wimbledon takes place afterward in July and the Swiss legend is the overwhelming favorite to win it for the ninth time in what would not only mark a record 21st Grand Slam title but also his fourth since the start of 2017 at the age of 36.
Krajicek, who won Wimbledon in 1996, praised Federer for being able to compete at the highest level for so many years. However, the Dutchman believes for all his major titles, Federer falls short of Djokovic.
"What makes Federer special is that he played at the highest level for 16 years and achieved the record Grand Slam titles," Krajicek said, as per the Express. "He is also the most beautiful player to watch."
"But Djokovic won most of the matches against him. I think that he is even more complete [than Federer]. Djokovic was holding all the Grand Slam titles in 2016, Federer never managed to do it."
Djokovic leads the duo's head-to-head record, holding 23 wins in 45 meetings, including seven wins in their last 10 games as well as victories in their last four Grand Slam meetings, three of which were finals.
The Serbian's finest moment came in 2016 though, when his victory at the French Open over Andy Murray not only saw him win his 12th major title but also become just the third player in tennis history to be the reigning champion of all four Grand Slam events at the same time â a feat the media would dub the "Nole Slam."
Since winning his 12th Grand Slam though, Djokovic suffered from injuries which ultimately affected his form for the best part of a year. But while his performances have improved since the clay-court season as he currently takes part in the Queen's Club Championships, Krajicek claims Federer was only able to get to the top of the ATP rankings again because of injuries to his rivals like Djokovic and Murray.
"Roger is [No 1] because his major rivals are injured," Krajicek added. "His biggest result was [returning to No 1 in 2012] because Federer managed to overcome Djokovic and Murray who were in good form that year."
While Federer did not win any Grand Slams in 2014 or 2015 which is when he brought in Stefan Edberg as his coach, Krajicek noted his overall improvement came under the Swede's tutelage.
"Edberg taught him to finish the rallies, now Roger knows how to come to the net and cover the court," Krajicek explained. "Roger never tries to win the point with the first volley. He puts the opponent off balance and chooses the open angle, just like Edberg was doing."
Federer and Djokovic are both in quarterfinal action on Thursday as they take on Benoit Paire and Grigor Dimitrov respectively.