Djokovic Chasing Tennis History At US Open
He’s never been the most popular figure amongst fans, the media and even occasionally his peers, but no one can deny that Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest players to ever pick up a tennis racket. Now, with his two greatest rivals both temporarily (possibly permanently) out of the picture, the Serbian stands on the cusp of history as he heads into this month’s US Open at Flushing Meadows with a chance to accomplish a feat that hasn’t been completed in over 30 years; and not on the men’s side of the game in over half a century.
It was 1969 when Aussie sporting icon Rod Laver completed his second of two incredible ‘Calendar Grand Slams’, winning all four of tennis major singles tournaments; the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open; in the same calendar year. In the 52 years since, only women’s tour legends Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988) have completed what many consider tennis’ greatest challenge, as some of the games’ greats, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, have come close, only to fall short. After an already historic season that has seen Djokovic time and time again overcoming the best the new generation has to offer, as well as his rival Nadal on his adopted home ground at the French Open, the world no. 1 enters the year’s fourth and final major in with the first three majors already under his belt, and on the precipice of joining the exclusive list of singles Calendar Grand Slam winners.
In order to put his name in the history books, the 34-year-old will have to overcome not only the aforementioned crop of emerging young stars, but also some personal demons in New York dating back to last years’ tournament. Djokovic was well on his way to claiming his 18th major title at the 2020 US Open before he was disqualified in his fourth-round match against Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta for inadvertently striking a line judge with a ball. Djokovic has been open about how the incident affected him psychologically throughout the rest of the 2020 season, so it will be interesting to see whether a return to Flushing Meadows will have the unfortunate incident back on the mind as he progresses through the tournament.
Also, on the line for Djokovic in New York; the overall major title record, where he currently sits tied on 20 titles with Federer and Nadal. With the 40-year-old Federer recovering from another knee surgery (from which many believe he will not return from) and the 35-year-old Nadal also struggling with health issues and facing the last stage of his own career, it is certainly possible that a 21st major from Djokovic could put him out of reach of his two rivals and end to the epic ‘greatest of all time’ debate once and for all.
Djokovic got his campaign off to a creaky start on Wednesday (NZT) in a four-set first-round win over Danish teenager Holger Rune. Greater challenges await him in the later rounds, potentially including three of Djokovic’s already slain major final foes from earlier this year in Russia’s Daniil Medvedev (Australian Open finalist), Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas (French Open finalist) and Italy’s Matteo Berrettini (Wimbledon finalist), all of whom are seeking their first major title at Flushing Meadows. History might be on their side, as the US Open has proved to be the most unpredictable tennis major on the men’s singles side, with six different champions in the past nine tournaments and without a repeat champion since Roger Federer won five straight titles from 2004 to 2008. Defending champion Dominic Thiem is not competing due to a wrist injury, meaning that streak will continue into 2022.
If we go by the form books, Novak Djokovic will likely leave New York with another piece of sporting history to his name and add another achievement to his already unmatched resume. However, with the pressure of chasing a feat that has not been accomplished in decades, Djokovic will have to fight off more than just the men standing across the court from him if he wants to cement his status as men’s tennis’ undisputed king.
Top image courtesy of Christopher Johnson.