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In three months Novak Djokovic will be able to definitively rewrite the history of tennis, conquering 3 of the last great records that still stand, between men's and women's tennis. After all, as they say in these cases, the winner takes all.
Djokovic has so far gleaned everything he could glean from his amazing career. He broke impossible and unthinkable records until a few years ago, becoming the most successful tennis player of all time. There are records that are impossible for him to beat too, such as Rafael Nadal's 14 titles at the Roland Garros, but everything else is still within his reach.
And, as I said at the beginning of the article, in three months Djokovic will truly be able to take everything. The Serb will prepare to experience perhaps the most intense and psycho-physically trying three months of his extraordinary career, between the end of May and the end of July 2024. Considering that he reaches the age of 37, the feat, if it is done, will have a value even more important.
The first record could arrive at the Roland Garros. I already told you about it in my previous editorial, you can find it by clicking here. In fact, by winning the French Open, Djokovic would win the 4th Parisian title of his career. This would mean that Novak would have won all 4 Slams at least 4 times. A crazy record: the only one to do it was Steffi Graf, who won all 4 Majors at least 4 times. But here the German's record is at risk, considering that Djokovic could equal it as early as the first Sunday of June.
But this is just the beginning. In mid-July, Djokovic will seek glory at Wimbledon. The 7-time winner of the Championships will try to equal the men's singles event record, which belongs to Roger Federer, winner 8 times on the Church Road lawns. Nole follows the Swiss Maestro with 7 titles together with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw. Djokovic already came close to this record last year, unexpectedly losing in the final in five sets against Carlitos Alcaraz. After the efforts of the Roland Garros, this will therefore be his second goal.
The circle will close at the Paris Olympics, which will be played on the clay courts of the Roland Garros Stadium. And the Bois de Boulogne Olympic tournament will probably be Djokovic's last chance to achieve the much desired Olympic gold medal. The last great title still missing from his complete and enviable collection. Only four players, in the entire history of tennis, have managed to achieve the Career Golden Slam: Serena Williams, Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal.
Mission impossible? For Djokovic anything is possible, even if these three months will probably require the greatest physical and mental effort that the Serbian has ever made in his career.
Looking at the long term, what could the future goals of the Serbian tennis player be? Margaret Smith's 11 Australian Open titles are still possible. More difficult, but not impossible, is the record of 9 Wimbledon titles, which belongs to Martina Navratilova. The 8 US Open titles belonging to Molla Bjurstedt Mallory today seem like a record too far away, but with Djokovic, never say never.
And what else can Djokovic get from his career?
Last Monday, Djokovic began his 411th week at the top of the ATP world ranking and set his sights on an incredible new record. The Serb will try to become the oldest tennis player in history to lead the ATP ranking in singles, surpassing Roger Federer, who led the ranking in 2018 at the age of 36 years and 10 months.
It will be enough for Djokovic to maintain first position until at least April 1st, but he will still have several opportunities in case he fails to achieve the feat by this date. Djokovic does not defend points at the ATP Masters 1000 at Indian Wells and Miami. He will try to take advantage of these two tournaments to get the most.
These are the two events he is expected to take part in before April 1st. In 2023, Djokovic missed both appointments due to the entry rules in force in the United States at the time that did not allow a foreign citizen to enter the country without a vaccine. The Serb then made his return to the USA by winning first the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati and then his 24th Slam at the US Open.
NFL legend Tom Brady used Djokovic as a true sporting example. Brady referred to matches where teams or athletes start slowly and then react strongly, in this the current world number one took the example.
"I have often seen Novak Djokovic lose the first set and then suddenly react. There is no need to always win 6-0 6-0, sometimes you can lose something and maybe start not very well. It's not just up to you, there are also opponents and they have a plan too. Little by little the game progresses and each of us understands what the right plan is, what is needed to attack and, if necessary, counterattack," he told.