Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov are the two highest-ranked Canadian players on the ATP Tour.
Auger-Aliassime was once one of tennis’ brightest prospects, having won Challenger titles by the age of 16, and reached the world’s top 25 by 18.
He hasn’t quite fulfilled that potential since, and despite Auger-Aliassime’s Masters 1000 final appearance at Madrid last year, looks unlikely to become one of the world’s best anytime soon.
Shapovalov was another Canadian star that looked set to challenge for years to come after reaching the 2019 Paris Masters final, and the last four of Wimbledon in 2021.
However, much like Auger-Aliassime, that potential never quite materialized, as Shapovalov’s loss in the first round of his home Canadian Open this year, was a worryingly unsurprising defeat.
Both players will be looking to bounce back in the new year, but have first given their thoughts on who the best player of all time is.
Speaking in an interview ahead of his 2025 season Auger-Aliassime was asked to pick who he thinks the best ATP player of all time is.
“[Novak] Djokovic,” he said.
“The numbers don’t lie.”
Shapovalov was asked a similar question, as he agreed with Auger-Aliassime.
“I have to go with Novak [Djokovic],” he said.
Shapovalov has lost all eight meetings with the Serbian star, while Auger-Aliassime is level at 1-1 in his head-to-head with Djokovic.
Having lost their first clash in Rome, Auger-Aliassime got the better of the 24-time Slam winner at the 2022 Laver Cup.
The win saw his team take the lead over Team Europe before Frances Tiafoe helped clinch a maiden title for Team World later on.
Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov aren’t the only two players to have been asked for their pick on the greatest player of all time.
Over recent years several top current and former players have been asked for their picks.
Remarkably, despite Rafael Nadal’s 22 Major titles, he doesn’t seem to be many players pick for the greatest of all time, with Stefanos Tsitsipas being the highest profile name to choose him recently.
Name | Greatest of all time votes | Grand Slam titles won |
Novak Djokovic | 7 | 24 |
Roger Federer | 3 | 20 |
Rafael Nadal | 1 | 22 |
Djokovic seems to be the consensus pick, perhaps unsurprising considering he holds the record for the most Grand Slam titles won with 24.
Holding the number one ranking for 428 weeks certainly doesn’t harm his case either, as Djokovic managed to dominate the ATP Tour for several years.
Djokovic will be hoping to add to his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open which begins on January 12.
Related Topics
Iga Swiatek has revealed the reason behind her medical timeout during a pivotal moment of her clash with Coco Gauff at the 2025 United Cup. The duo
Roger Federer and Andre Agassi faced off in the quarterfinals of the 2005 Australian Open, one of the biggest matches of the tournament. It marked
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard will be hoping to really kick on during 2025 after rising through the ATP rankings last year. It was a stunning year for the Frenchm
Iga Swiatek shared her thoughts after Poland's loss to the Coco Gauff-led Team USA in the United Cup final. Despite the defeat, Swiatek applauded h