Six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker has showered praise on 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, calling him the ‘lion king’ following his record seventh AFP Finals triumph in Turin, Italy.

Djokovic shattered yet another record held by the legendary Roger Federer when he defeated Italy’s Jannik Sinner in straight sets to win his seventh ATP Finals title. Djokovic beat Sinner 6-3 6-3 in this year’s final to become the player with the most ATP Final titles.

His triumph in Turin brought an end to a remarkable season for the 36-year-old. Djokovic ended the year as the number one ranked men’s player, having won three of the four Grand Slam titles (Australian Open, Roland Garros, US Open), while losing in the final of Wimbledon against Carlos Alcaraz.

Speaking on Eurosport Germany’s tennis podcast Das Gelbe vom Ball, Becker waxed lyrical about the Serb, calling him the lion king. Following his ATP Final victory, Djokovic helped Serbia beat Great Britain in the Davis Cup quarter-finals in Malaga, Spain.

“For me, he is the lion king. He has won three Grand Slam tournaments this year and reached the final at Wimbledon – he was close to the calendar Grand Slam at the age of 36. This is out of this world,” said Becker.

He went on to say that Djokovic now falls in the same category as Lionel Messi, LeBron James and Tom Brady, as the greatest to play their respective sports.

“Maybe you have to look at it more generally and he’s not just the best tennis player at the moment, but the best sportsman. I want to compare him to a Lionel Messi, a LeBron James and a Tom Brady – for me, that’s the category Novak Djokovic is in because all these athletes are dominating or have dominated their sport even in their mid or late thirties,” Becker added.

Djokovic is now the winner of the most Grand Slams in men’s and women’s tennis while also winning the most ATP Finals and Masters 1000 titles (40).