When he won his second US Open title; his 10th Grand Slam title; his third Grand Slam of the season; his 9th major in four years, Novak Djokovic finally held his head high. Not that the Serb hadn’t the will and righteousness to do so long ago, let’s be clear about it. But on September 14th for the first time something has changed between Novak and his view on the history of the sport and of those champions who did dictate it and write on it before he could get started.
For the first time, Djokovic wasn’t afraid to answer a question regarding an immaculate record made possession of Roger Federer in 2012. The seventeen Grand Slam titles which are as great as they sound.
For the past three years all experts and fans in tennis – we can also include the other ATP players in the list – thought there was only one name designed to threaten that record, and that name had to be Rafael Nadal.
Since the Nadal-Federer rivalry kicked off in 2004 in Miami, it has been the highlight and evergreen spirit that brought together tennis fans, created new legions of tennis affectionate and racquet lovers, far more than the sport had ought to define as target when the Sampras era came to a halt. Federer the crystalline talent, Nadal the infinite will and humbleness. The clash of the two titans has been all tennis fans have been looking for to watch in every single Grand Slam final over the past decade or so. And those two made sure expectations met with reality, winning all titles they could, putting together an impressive total of 31 Grand Slam titles in two. So there they sit, first and second place (tied with Sampras) for the most major successes in the history of the sport.
What about the other contenders?
There aren’t, well, there weren’t. The Fab-Four era seemed a tentative to throw some spice in a perfectly balanced plot. Truth is that no matter who came, if he were to threaten the Nadal-Federer rivalry he never was warmly welcomed. Roger and Rafa managed to become the only possible antithesis of one another. One could be “enemy” of the other, but whoever came next would automatically be the “enemy” of the two of them simulatenously.
And so those who won Grand Slam titles in the Nadal-Federer era had to succumb to the role of the actor in a supporting role. Safin, Del Potro, Murray, Cilic, Wawrinka and Djokovic. None of them has ever been loved or has ever polarised the tennis fandom as much as Roger and Rafa had done in 11 years together.
But the time has come to admit – dear Fedal friends – that there is one more player in the picture, someone who could possibly end his career further up than those two untouchable legends. And the problem – for those attached to the Federer and Nadal rivalry above all – is that since the 14th of September 2015, he now knows it too.
Asked by the New York Times what he thought about a chance to pass Federer and his Grand Slam record, Novak Djokovic didn’t smile a dreamy smile of “I Wish”, nor did he look down thinking the reporter was over excited. The Serb didn’t dwell on humble justifications of impossibilities. Novak just said:
“I would not be truthful to you if I would say I’m not thinking about it. Of course I am.”
Now a run to history is possible for Djokovic. With 10 Grand Slam titles at 28 years of age, after finishing a season worth of a Calendar Grand Slam, Novak has no reason to keep his head down and prolong in the overdue admiration for those two legends who dictated the sport so well these past ten years. At the current stage of things, Novak can be considered part of a triangle of tennis dominators, a name that will fill in the history pages.
Novak won his 10 Slam titles facing and beating all top players, including Federer and Nadal, Murray, Del Potro and also the new generation of Raonic, Dimitrov, Kyrgios, or the always good players like Berdych, Tsonga, Gasquet, Cilic. The one player he also beat, but lost to in a threatening way has been Stan Wawrinka, who took his career Slam dream away this Spring in Paris.
And it looks like Wawrinka could be the only one to trouble Djokovic in Grand Slam finals next year. But would the Swiss be enough? Novak is currently the most in-form, adaptable, multi-surface, physically at peak player in the field. Not only he is the favorite to win all the tournaments at the end of this season as he did over the past three years. He will also be the player to beat in Melbourne and then again in Paris, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows next year.
Considering the perfect balance off and on court, of body and mind, Novak should have at least 5 more seasons of high level tennis. Let’s consider two Grand Slam titles per season, which is a realistically achievable goal for the Serb. Then the picture comes off blur.
Those who were born before him failed to stop him in the long run. Those born to beat him are yet to blossom. Novak is 28, is following a gluten free diet, is married, has a family, is motivated to win more. He will have crowds against again, when he will face Federer in a Grand Slam final, for instance. But maybe one day, together with a place in history, he will have found a place in the heart of the tennis fans.
It will be the moment that fans follow Novak in his realisation. Yes, he could end up being the Greatest of his time, of all time.
