Tribute: Djokovic Doubles Down, Now Eyes Tennis' Ultimate Prize
The GOAT debate just got a whole lot more complicated.
On a blissfully sunny Sunday in Paris, Novak Djokovic further narrowed the gap between himself and Big Three counterparts Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by claiming his 19th major title at Roland Garros. And he did so in historic fashion, erasing a two-set deficit to defeat first-time finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, becoming the first man in the Open Era to complete a career Grand Slam for the second time.
Only Hall of Famers Roy Emerson and Rod Laver have equaled the feat, with all or part of their achievements coming before the dawn of the Open Era.
Laver, 82, the last man to pull it off when he completed an unparalleled second calendar-year Grand Slam back in 1969, told ATPTour.com, “I did it as an amateur and a pro. I don’t know which was harder. But I’m thrilled for Novak. He likes the challenge that is always there. That’s what he thrives on. Not very often does he find himself unable to play his best tennis. He’s a different player. Mentally, he’s strong. A game or two down in the fifth doesn’t mean anything to him. He keeps battling on.”
Cheers to you, champ ????#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/zSxJCOcGav
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 13, 2021
The top-ranked Serb showed that fight in Paris and then some. Down two-sets-to-love to fast-rising Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the Round of 16, he stormed back to assume control of the match, winning when his 19-year-old foe retired trailing 0-4 in the fifth. He again got off to a slow start in his blockbuster semi-final against Nadal, dropping the first five games of the match. But there was no panic to be seen in the 34-year-old, who somehow found a way, as he likened it, to scale Mt. Everest, handing the 13-time champion and reigning King of Clay only his third loss in 108 matches on the terre battue of Roland Garros.
Nadal’s only other defeats in the 16th arrondissement came against Robin Soderling in 2009, and against Djokovic in 2015.
Then there was his back-against-the-wall turnaround against Tsitsipas on Court Philippe Chatrier, yet another escape act in which he simply refused to surrender. It marked the sixth successful comeback of his career from 0-2 down. He now holds the all-time record for most five-set matches won at the Grand Slams (32), having eclipsed Federer (30).
“Is Novak Djokovic the greatest player of all time? That’s still up for debate. It certainly appears he’s on his way, however,” said commentator Patrick McEnroe. “What’s apparent now is that Djokovic is the most complete player of all time.”
“A lot of people, including myself, think that Federer is the best ever at the moment,” said Laver from his home in Carlsbad, Calif. “But Novak’s compiling a big record, so you’ve got to look at his career. You have to put him in that group with the greatest players. He has to be up there.”
It’s just another notch in Djokovic’s assault on the record books. After matching boyhood idol Pete Sampras with his record sixth year-end finish atop the FedEx ATP Rankings in 2020, he surpassed Federer for most overall weeks at No. 1 in March (he’s now at 323). The only player to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 events not only once but at least twice, Djokovic now holds the Open Era mark for most Grand Slam men’s singles titles won after the age of 30. Since becoming a tricenarian, he has won titles at Wimbledon (2018-19), the US Open (2018), the Australian Open (2019-21) and now Roland Garros.
Sealed with a Coupe des Mousquetaires kiss ????#RolandGarros | @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/BO7vhM2mKw
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 13, 2021
The Belgradian has never shied away from sharing his goals in this sport. In February, after putting the finishing touches on his record ninth Australian Open title, he spoke of the Grand Slam dreams he’s cultivated since he first picked up a racquet at a tennis camp in Novi Sad three decades ago.
“I am always motivated and inspired to achieve big goals and break records. I would be lying if I said that’s not something that I’m thinking about or that my attention is not going that way,” he confided. “I don’t settle for anything less but the top of the men’s game and the biggest trophies.”
It was in Melbourne, of course, that Djokovic made his Slam breakthrough in 2008. He didn’t drop a set en route to the final that year, including a convincing dismissal of two-time defending champ Federer in the semis, before outlasting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(2). How could we have known then what was to come; that he would all but own Melbourne Park in the coming years; that he would become a second-week, trophy-kissing fixture at all four majors?
Three years passed before his next major title, though he would make up for lost time. In 2011, Djokovic turned in one of the most dominant seasons the sport had ever seen, going 70-6 with 10 titles, including three of four Slams and five ATP Masters 1000s. His first Wimbledon trophy came at defending champion Nadal’s expense that summer, a 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 shakedown at the All England Club. He’s since added four more to pull even with Bjorn Borg. Only Sampras (seven) and Federer (eight) have won more in the Open Era.
Novak Djokovic becomes the first male player in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slams at least twice.
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 13, 2021
Novak Djokovic est le premier joueur de l’ère Open à remporter au moins deux fois tous les titres du Grand Chelem.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/DPMi0pGJyK
That blistering campaign of ’11 also saw the Serb top Nadal in Flushing Meadows, 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1, for the first of three US Open crowns. (As tennis’ preeminent hard-court player, it’s perhaps surprising he hasn’t won more in New York, considering he’s reached eight finals.) He finished as the year-end No. 1 for the first time, officially infiltrating a Federer-Nadal duopoly that traced back to 2003.
Djokovic somehow managed to top his 2011 output by going 82-6 in 2015, again but a Roland Garros title away from the calendar-year Grand Slam (l. to Stan Wawrinka, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4). The onslaught included a career-high 11 titles, a record fourth straight Nitto ATP Finals triumph among them.
Given Nadal’s dominance in Paris, Roland Garros proved to be Djokovic’s toughest test. But he finally captured the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2016, simultaneously putting the finishing touches on his first career Grand Slam with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 over Andy Murray.
There have been some epic tussles along the way: His nearly-six-hour-long, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 marathon win over Nadal in the title match at the Australian Open in 2012; the two championship-points Djokovic saved against Federer in the 2019 Wimbledon final, et al. He’s been on the losing end plenty of times, too, but in the end, it may just be his performance against his chief rivals that carries the most weight in that often futile yet unavoidable GOAT debate: He holds the career edge over both: 27-23 over Federer, and 30-28 over Nadal. Now a single Slam behind them, he’s got Father Time on his side, too. (Federer is 39; Nadal 35.)
With Emerson and Laver one of only three men to win the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles in the same year on multiple occasions, Djokovic will no doubt shift his attention to one of the few tennis achievements to have eluded him: the calendar-year Grand Slam. He has twice won three of four majors in the same year; has even held all four titles at once, the so-called Nole Slam of 2015-16. But has yet to pull off the ultra-rare same-year sweep. Will 2021 be the year he finally does?
“Everything is possible,” said Djokovic after dispatching Tsitsipas. “I can say that what I’ve been through in my career, in my life, this journey has been terrific so far. I’ve achieved some things that a lot of people thought it would be not possible for me to achieve. Everything is possible.”