Novak Djokovic is amassing such a dossier of evidence that no sober judge would dispute his claims, but debate still rages as to who is the greatest men's tennis player of all time.
The 35-year-old has now racked up 378 weeks at number one on the singles rankings, not only improving his record among the men but also this week going past Steffi Graf, the leader on the women's tour.
Djokovic has won 10 of the last 16 grand slams he has contested, all since turning 30, and has moved level with Rafael Nadal on 22 singles majors, the most ever captured by a man.
His stockpiling of Masters 1000 titles is bordering on being greedy, with a record 38 tucked away, and although he turns 36 in May there is no sign of Djokovic slowing down.
Tommy Haas snatched three wins from nine encounters with Djokovic, while the Serbian was going up through the gears early in his career.
Haas told Stats Perform he sees Djokovic as a player who wants to "end that debate" over who is the greatest, but there are good grounds to reason the man from Belgrade has already done enough.
Djokovic's compelling case
With plenty of miles left in his legs, Djokovic has already reached 33 grand slam finals (W22 L11), the most by any man. It puts him level with Serena Williams (W23 L10) and one behind Chris Evert (W18 L16), who is perhaps a surprising leader in this field.
Given his form in the past 12 months, it would be astonishing if Djokovic does not reach more slam finals this year.
He has also won 38 Masters titles – the next rung down from the grand slams – and is not just the only singles player to have won every one of these nine tournaments, he has won each one at least twice.
Djokovic's six end-of-season ATP Finals titles puts him level with Federer.
Adding together grand slams, ATP Finals crowns and Masters 1000 wins, Djokovic has 66 of these so-called 'Big Titles', seven more than Nadal, who sits second on the list. It bears pointing out the Masters events only began in 1990, so this puts players of the modern era at an advantage, but the domination of these events by the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer mirrors their unprecedented grand slam supremacy.
Djokovic has an 83.5 per cent career win-loss record (W 1,043, L 206), the best of all players with at least 200 matches on tour during the Open Era (since 1968).
In the slams, his win-loss record of 341-47 gives Djokovic an 87.9 per cent winning record, just a shade behind Nadal's 88 per cent, and ahead of Federer (86 per cent).
Djokovic is rapidly closing in on overtaking Nadal's win percentage, having powered through his last 14 matches at the majors, triumphing at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
These winning percentages at the slams by the Big Three are not the absolute highest of all time, but considering Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have regularly had to play one another over the past two decades, that is easily explained.
Only Bjorn Borg (71.1 per cent) has a higher win percentage against top-10 players than Djokovic's 69.4 per cent, but Borg's career was relatively brief, stepping off the tour in his mid-20s, with Djokovic a model of sustained excellence.
Djokovic is playing in Dubai this week, seeking more trophy success.
The expert's view
"He's the ultimate competitive warrior out there," says Tommy Haas. "He doesn't leave a stone unturned, does everything that he possibly can to be the best that he can be."
Haas is now tournament director at the Indian Wells Masters – aka the BNP Paribas Open – and he had better results than most against Djokovic, scoring wins on grass in Halle and Wimbledon in 2009 before repeating the trick on hard court in Miami four years later.
Djokovic, it can be argued, is a better player at 35 than he was at 25, and he is certainly more dominant. The man who feeds off his inner "wolf energy" has lost none of his bite.
"He's spoken about it himself many times, the sort of upbringing that he had, the experiences that he had to go through just to put so much grit in him, so much fire and fighting power. And you see it. The guy is an absolute beast out there," Haas said.
"There's no doubt in my mind that in his mind he wants to become the greatest of all time and win the most slams and end that debate and I think that's that's what he's looking to do.
"We're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves now but let's just say he does have the most slams. He's won every Masters series there is, maybe the most of all of them as well. Longest number one, most slams and then I think there is no room to argue."
Is winning enough to define greatness?
Yes. It has to be. In hand-to-hand combat, whether in war or something as relatively frivolous at tennis, it's all about getting the better of the enemy. Then it's about continuing to do so, and if it's easy on the eye, all well and good.
Roger Federer played the most sumptuous tennis that made him a bigger draw than anyone, and the Swiss great was also a sensational winner to boot, and a charmer, but Djokovic is picking off his records one by one.
Does this make Djokovic the most popular tennis player of all time? No, he rarely exhibits the warmth of personality that Federer brought, the crowd-pleasing flourishes are in shorter supply, and he brings some of the bad press and occasional crowd antipathy on himself.
But winning is the priority for Djokovic, and nobody does it better.
Haas says: "Really, can you say does he have the prettiest game or the best shot selection or this and that? Without Roger and without Rafa he would have been pushed to become that good of a player? Maybe not. And you have to always look at every generation pushing each other and all that stuff.
"And the debates can go on and on. Bjorn Borg retired when he was 26 years old, he won 11 slams. What if he would have played 10 more years? Yeah, he probably could have had 20."
But Djokovic has 22 and is hurtling towards Margaret Court's 24 slams, the most by a woman. There is no doubt he believes he can go beyond that, and keep going.
Shingo Kunieda won 28 wheelchair singles majors, and Djokovic might even get up towards that number.
For now, the number that matters is number one. Whether you like him or not, the man they call Nole is hurtling into history as the champion supreme.
Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov sweep aside Finland at Davis Cup
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov moved Canada to the brink of qualification in the Davis Cup Finals group stage, comfortably dispatching Finland in Manchester.
Shapovalov needed just an hour and 13 minutes to beat Eero Vasa 7-6 (7-2) 6-2, backing up his win against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday.
The Canadian served five aces to his opponents' three, producing three love games in the final set to get his nation off to a flying start.
Auger-Aliassime followed up Shapovalov's victory with another straight sets win, this time over Otto Virtanen, emerging a 6-2 6-3 victor.
The world number 21 was dominant on serve throughout his 73-minute triumph, saving all three break points he faced and winning 86% of his first-serve points.
Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov then prevailed in the doubles against Harri Heliovaara and Virtanen in another straight sets win, putting them top of Group D without dropping a set against their opponents.
Nadal confirms Laver Cup withdrawal to help Team Europe 'deliver the win'
Rafael Nadal confirmed he will not participate in next month's Laver Cup, believing there are "other players who can help the team deliver the win" for Team Europe.
Nadal last played at the Paris Olympics alongside Carlos Alcaraz in the men's doubles, with the Spanish duo knocked out at the quarter-final stage at Roland Garros.
The 38-year-old also competed in the singles but was hampered by a thigh problem in Paris and suffered a second-round loss to eventual gold medallist Novak Djokovic.
Nadal participated in the inaugural edition of the Laver Cup seven years ago, defeating Jack Sock to help Team Europe claim a 15-9 victory.
It is yet to be confirmed who will replace the 22-time grand slam champion in Berlin next month as captain Bjorn Borg now goes in search of adding to his star-studded line-up.
Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas have already been confirmed as the participants to face Team World in Berlin.
Nadal posted a statement on social media, saying that he was making the decision for the benefit of the team.
“I’m really disappointed to share that I won’t be able to compete at the Laver Cup in Berlin next week," Nadal said.
"This is a team competition and to really support Team Europe, I need to do what’s best for them and at this moment there are other players who can help the team deliver the win.
"I have so many great, emotional memories from playing in the Laver Cup, and I was really looking forward to being with my teammates and with Bjorn in his final year as Captain.
"I wish Team Europe the very best of luck and will be cheering them on from afar.”
The news will accelerate speculation that retirement could be imminent for the Spaniard, who was unsure of his future following his exit from the Olympic Games.
Rooney, Barry, Crouch? Who are the ultimate Premier League 'Barclaysmen'?
The international window is over, as Premier League football returns this weekend, but the two-week break had supporters reminiscing.
From 2004 to 2016, Barclays was the Premier League's sponsor.
And in a trend that has taken over social media, "Barclaysmen" have been picked out as players synonymous with that 12-year period.
Here, we take a deep dive into Opta data to find out which players were the actual hallmarks of the Barclays Premier League.
410 - Gareth Barry led the way with 410 matches played for Aston Villa, Manchester City and Everton between 2004 and 2016 – he is, of course, also the Premier League's all-time record holder for appearances too, with a whopping 653 to his name.
James Milner is set to overtake Barry this season, though, and 369 of his 637 matches came in this 12-year span.
178 - Bursting onto the scene as a 16-year-old, Wayne Rooney would go on to become one of the greatest goalscorers the division has ever seen.
Starting his career with Everton, Rooney joined Manchester United in 2004, where he won five league titles during the Barclays era.
In that 12-year span, no player scored more goals than the mercurial forward, who netted 178 times, with his former United club-mate Robin van Persie (144) second, ahead of Chelsea's Frank Lampard (132).
Rooney wasn't just a goalscorer. He also provided 88 assists in this era, taking his total goal contributions tally to 266, 54 more than the next-best, Lampard (212).
1,430 - Naturally, being the top goalscorer from 2004 and 2016, Rooney also tops the rankings for the most shots taken during that period, with 1,430.
Rooney's most prolific season came during the 2011-12 campaign, when he netted 27 Premier League goals, but it wasn't enough to stop rivals Manchester City from lifting their first top-flight title since 1968.
Midfielder Lampard (1,118) is next on the list for shots, with Van Persie (963), Jermain Defoe (939) and Steven Gerrard (919) next.
95 - What about creativity?
When it comes to assists, there were no better in this time span than Cesc Fabregas, who laid on 95 goals across spells at Arsenal and Chelsea.
Interestingly, though, Gerrard (767) led the way for chances created, with Lampard (759) also coming in ahead of Fabregas, though it is worth noting the Spaniard spent time away from the Premier League after leaving Arsenal for Barcelona.
43 - When it comes to headed goals, you won't be surprised to see that six-foot-seven-inch Peter Crouch led the way, with 43.
Crouch represented Aston Villa, Southampton, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Spurs and Stoke during the Barclays era, becoming well-known for his lanky frame and ability in the air.
He 'heads' the list by 12 goals to former Everton forward Tim Cahill, who scored 31 goals with his head despite being three inches under six foot.
30 - Having come close to having the most goals in the Barclays era, Lampard tops the list for the most goals scored from outside the box across its 12-year timeframe.
Known for his incredible knack of being in the right place at the right time, Lampard's ability both in and outside the box made him one of the deadliest midfielders the division has ever seen.
Strikes against Norwich City, Fulham and away at Goodison Park are standouts, with the Englishman often finding the back of the net when pulling back his cultured right foot.
11 - While James Ward-Prowse leads the way for the most free-kick goals scored in the Premier League, Sebastian Larsson might just be the true embodiment of a Barclaysman.
The former Arsenal, Birmingham City and Sunderland midfielder scored 11 direct free-kick goals between 2004-05 and 2015-16, one more than five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Morten Gamst Pederson, who must be another candidate for the ultimate Barclaysman.
That being said, who had the most direct free-kick shots? It wasn't any of the above. Instead, it was Lampard, who tried his luck 173 times, scoring on nine occasions.
486 - Charles N'Zogbia. Remember him?
A star for Wigan Athletic, N'Zogbia completed 486 dribbles during his time in the division. Surprisingly, Glen Johnson, a full-back, was the next best with 481, ahead of Eden Hazard (463).
Remarkably, though, Ronaldo comes in at fifth, and that is despite only playing in five of the Barclays seasons. He completed 449 dribbles in total, an average of 2.7 per game.
1,107 - Jussi Jaaskelainen, the baby-faced Finn, made 1,107 saves in the Barclays era, which puts him ahead of Mark Schwarzer (1,018) and Tim Howard (1,014).
Petr Cech, meanwhile, was the goalkeeper to keep the most clean sheets (178).
48 - Now time for the unlucky statistics during the Barclays era. During his spells with Arsenal and Man United, no one struck the woodwork more than Robin van Persie.
Despite netting 144 goals in his 280 Premier League appearances, ranking 14th on the all-time list, the Dutchman could have been among the top 10 scorers to play in the division had it not been for the crossbar and posts.
Van Persie also squandered the most big chances (80), though Sergio Aguero (78) was hot on his heels.
910- Out on his own by three, former Aston Villa, Man City and QPR defender Richard Dunne is the unfortunate man to have scored the most own goals between 2001-02 and 2012-13, with 10.
Across his time in the Premier League, the Republic of Ireland did manage to score more goals at the right end, finishing his career in 2015 with 11 top-flight strikes.
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