There’s no doubt in Matthew McConaughey’s mind: This A-lister thinks Novak Djokovic is the GOAT.
The Dazed and Confused star christened the world No. 1 with the oft-debated title Monday on the back of Djokovic’s second, epic Roland Garros comebacks in as many days.
After defeating Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in a five-set third round match that ended at 3:07 a.m. on Sunday, Djokovic was back on the court in Paris 37 hours later Monday and outlasted Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in four hours and 39 minutes.
“More than a mental machine,” the Academy Award-winner posted to X, formerly Twitter.
A noted tennis fan who plays avidly himself, McConaughey hasn’t only been watching Djokovic’s matches at the clay-court Grand Slam. In Rome, for example, he was tuned in to Tommy Paul’s run to the semifinals.
But the bond he shares with the world No. 1 is a special one.
A frequent guest at the US Open, McConaughey was one the stars who watched Djokovic win his record-tying 24th Grand Slam title in Queens last summer, and was seated in Djokovic’s player box.
Djokovic celebrated with McConaughey after defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final (in fact, he was the first person Djokovic hugged), and the actor praised him in a subsequent appearance on The View.
“He’s friends with my wife [model Camila Alves], and then I got to know him through her,” McConaughey said. “We’ve had some dinners along the way, and I’m a big fan. What a surgeon, and a warror. The resilience of what he’s done, he’s amazing.”
