Alex de Minaur has declared Novak Djokovic the greatest of all time ahead of Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer. Image: Getty

Alex de Minaur has inadvertently risked the wrath of Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal fans after declaring Novak Djokovic the greatest player of all time. De Minaur stunned World No.1 Djokovic on Wednesday night with a 6-4 6-4 victory in Australia’s United Cup tie with Serbia.

The World No.12 scored his first career victory over a World No.1, joining Nick Kyrgios and Lleyton Hewitt as the only Aussies to beat Djokovic in his career. Speaking afterwards, de Minaur said: “I’m happy I can say I got a win over the GOAT” – short for ‘greatest of all time’.

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Debate has been raging for years about which player out of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer is the actual GOAT of men’s tennis. Fans of Federer and Nadal are refusing to relent despite the fact Djokovic now has 24 grand slam titles compared to Nadal’s 22 and Federer’s 20.

Nadal copped some backlash earlier this week when he played down Djokovic’s legacy and declared Federer the greatest. “(Federer) is the player who has impressed me the most, the one who has entertained me the most, the one who has moved me the most,” Nadal said in an interview with El Pais.

“Watching Federer play has moved me more than Djokovic, and in the end, tennis is about emotion. It’s the emotion that draws you to it.

“In terms of tennis, it’s clear. It’s a combination of very radical styles. Federer was perfection in terms of aesthetics, elegance and technique. I have very good technique, but technique is not the same as aesthetics. They are two different things. He had incredible technique, doing things beautifully with impressive elegance.

“We have all reinvented ourselves (and) that’s why there has been this intense rivalry. We always surprised each other. Djokovic, as well, but with a difference compared to the two of us. He hasn’t needed to evolve (his style) as much as we have. He hasn’t suffered as many injuries. The only thing that has demanded him to improve his game has been his rivals, not physical issues. That’s a difference.”