Novak Djokovic: French Open winner ready to emulate Rod Laver & Steffi Graf
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Like Andre Agassi and Roger Federer, and Don Budge and Fred Perry before them, Novak Djokovic's moment of crowning glory came on the Philippe Chatrier court.
The eighth man to have claimed all four of the sport's Grand Slam titles has also done something that has (so far) proved beyond both Federer and Rafael Nadal. For the first time since man landed on the moon, the same player is the Wimbledon, US Open, Australian Open and now French Open champion.
Rod Laver managed to win all four in the same year for the second time in his career in 1969, and Djokovic is now dominating the game like a man who has every intention of emulating him.
"I don't want to sound arrogant, but I really think everything is achievable in life," he said, when asked about his chances of achieving the calendar Grand Slam.
"That's still a possibility. But I don't think about it right now."
In a BBC interview, Djokovic, who beat Britain's Andy Murray in four sets at Roland Garros, continued: "I'm privileged and honoured to be alongside Rod Laver.
"I have probably experienced one of the most beautiful moments of my professional tennis career. I would say winning Wimbledon in 2011, victory in the [2010] Davis Cup and this moment are quite remarkable and unforgettable."
Winning an Olympic gold medal for Serbia is also very high on Djokovic's list of priorities for the year, and if he can win the title in Rio, as well as at Wimbledon and the US Open, he will emulate Steffi Graf's 'Golden Slam' of 1988.
The schedule, though, is gruelling. Wimbledon starts in three weeks' time, the Olympics follow on four weeks later, and then - after just a fortnight's rest - New York hosts the US Open.
But if anyone can, Novak can. He has been in the past six Grand Slam finals, and won five of them. And clay is considered his weakest surface.
Djokovic will now disappear from public view until he opens the defence of his Wimbledon title on Centre Court. There will be no warm-up events on grass for him.
| Men with most Grand Slam titles | |
|---|---|
| Roger Federer | 17 |
| Pete Sampras | 14 |
| Rafael Nadal | 14 |
| Novak Djokovic | 12 |
| Roy Emerson | 12 |
| Bjorn Borg | 11 |
| Rod Laver | 11 |
Part of his success has been the ability to know when to rest. A slightly rusty Djokovic is still more than a match over five sets for anyone who has the misfortune to be asked to play him in the first week of a Grand Slam.
His fitness levels are beyond compare. It seems a very long time ago that Roger Federer was describing his injury record as a "joke" and Andy Roddick made fun of his long list of illnesses with flippant references to bird flu and SARS.
Despite many attempts to find a solution, breathing problems had undermined the early years of Djokovic's career. It was only after being sick in the middle of his Australian Open quarter-final with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2010, that he realised he needed a fresh approach.
Test results showed he had a strong intolerance to wheat and dairy, as well as a mild sensitivity to tomatoes. So out went the wheat and out went the dairy, and his sugar intake was significantly reduced.
Djokovic says he now struggles to catch even a common cold, and given his exceptional consistency, his case for a 'Golden Slam' is a persuasive one.
With 12 Grand Slam titles to his name, Djokovic now sits in equal fourth place on the all-time list. He turned 29 on the opening day of the French Open and so appears to have plenty of time to catch Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal on 14, and even Roger Federer on 17.
Federer will be 35 in August, and has not won a Grand Slam for four years. His back injury appears to have cleared up in time for his favourite few months of the year, but the evidence of last year suggests that beating Djokovic over five sets is now a bridge too far.
"At the beginning I was not glad to be part of their era," Djokovic admitted after his victory over Murray.
"Later on I realised that in life everything happens for a reason.
"You're put in this position with a purpose - a purpose to learn and to grow and to evolve."
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However, in Novak Djokovic, men's tennis has pretty much the complete player, the guy has just about every quality needed to succeed.
Andy Murray is one of the UK's greatest sportsmen, he has ripped up the record books and gave british tennis dignity again. Achieving feats no man from Britain has done since the 30's.
He is also playing in an era with the best players tennis has ever had,which is great but unfortunate for him.
You should be proud if your a tennis fan
Andy had a great tournament but I think the result wasn't really surprising, this was one match too far. Andy is unlucky to be in this era when you look at the names who won slams only a few years ago.
If Andy can recover mentally he still has a great shot at Wimbledon.
Hail Novak, conqueror of the world of tennis.
Its not a weak list but not as impressive as Novak who has won all of his slams against Murray Nadal or Roger...
Its all about opinions and no one person can be right but my opinion is that Novak has played a higher level against better opponents, hes incredible
I think hes got a mental block playing Novak in Major finals, hes beat him to win the US and Wimbledon so i dont know why.
Outstanding getting to the final though from Murray, heres hoping he can win Wimbledon again!!!
Ah, Wimbledon. Not the French, which he's only won once. Or the US, which he's won twice. But Wimbledon, which he's already won 3 times.
Slightly anglocentric, perhaps? Suspect the wider tennis world wouldn't see it quite like that.
Disappointing we haven't seen a youngster come through lately and really challenge at the top, it's becoming quite predictable lately. Every slam you expect Murray Djok final and Djok to win
Ah lucky. Tennis history is strewn with players who won 2 majors luckily. Winning 7 best-of-5-set matches in a row, beating someone of the calibre of Djokovic in the final.
Or maybe it isn't.
Not a Murray fan but I have to say he played magnificent tennis this week especially in the semi, but Djokovic was unstoppable once he got going in the final.
Those people who suggest he's "just a good player" are very hard to please. Enjoy what Murray is doing because you'll miss him when he's gone.
The standard of Sunday's final was phenomenal, Andy Murray was pure class even when Djokovic was well on top.
We are entering the twilight of this outrageous era, enjoy it.
I think people are a bit harsh.
He's probably consistently been in the top 3 players for a while now, but mostly as one of the others you mention have been injured, but then, he is probably playing in the most competitive era of men's tennis ever.
So being in the top 4, probably top 3 of the entire world is nothing to be ashamed of, which is how a lot of comments come across