Tennis: Novak Djokovic on a mission at the US Open to become the greatest
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic on July 24, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan during the Olympic Games.
AP - Patrick Semansky
Text by: Nicolas Bamba Follow
7 mins
The 2021 edition of the US Open, which opens on Monday, looks like a titanic challenge for Novak Djokovic.
In New York, the Serbian can clinch a 21st Grand Slam tournament, which would be a new record.
It is also targeting the calendar Grand Slam, an unprecedented feat since 1969. But beware, the next generation threatens.
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Who is the greatest tennis player of all time?
Very thorny question, likely to leave in long debates without a definite answer.
Times have changed, names have rocketed: Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi…
And then, in the 2000s, three monsters arrived on the circuit: the eldest Roger Federer (born in 1981), the “Manacor Bull” Rafael Nadal (born in 1986), and Novak Djokovic.
Each at their own pace, each in their own way, they have pushed the limits.
Perhaps the greatest of all is among them.
The debate will undoubtedly never be closed, but Djokovic has the opportunity to take a serious step ahead of his elders.
The youngest of the three - he was born in 1987 - already leads in direct confrontations: 27 wins for 23 losses against Federer, 30 wins for 28 losses
against Nadal
.
And after winning a 20th Grand Slam title in July at Wimbledon, the same total as the Swiss and the Spaniard, he will have the opportunity to clinch a 21st with the US Open, which begins Monday, August 30. .
Federer and Nadal, absent, will perhaps see their youngest surpass them
To become the only record holder for the number of Grand Slam titles, the Serbian has seven matches to win at Flushing Meadows. It will probably not be a walk in the park, especially since he has to face a pack of young wolves with long teeth. World No.2 Daniil Medvedev (25), World No.3 Stefanos Tsitsipas (23) and World No.4 Alexander Zverev (24), among others, have the wherewithal to make him falter. But the path has cleared somewhat with the
forfeits of Roger Federer
, Rafael Nadal and defending champion Dominic Thiem.
Besides a 21st Major, the “Djoker” can also accomplish a feat achieved only once in the Open era, that of professional tennis: winning all four Grand Slam titles in the same year. In 2021, Djokovic has already won the Australian Open,
Roland Garros
and
Wimbledon
. All he needs is the US Open to join Rod Laver, the only tennis player to have succeeded in this incredible challenge in 1969.
The world No. 1, as a big favorite, feels the pressure on his shoulders.
But in 18 years on the pro tour, “Nole” has learned to handle it.
“
The pressure is still enormous this time.
But I'm used to it.
It is not the first time.
And the pressure, well, it's a privilege.
We work every day of our life to achieve this, to win a Grand Slam and make history,
”he told reporters on August 27.
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Can Djokovic crack again?
Titled three times at the US Open (2011, 2015, 2018), but also beaten five times in the final (by Federer in 2007, by Nadal in 2010 and 2013, by Andy Murray in 2012 and by Stan Wawrinka in 2016), Novak Djokovic is a winning machine, but he's not foolproof. Last year, a gesture of humor had earned him a disqualification in the round of 16 against Pablo Carreno Busta: with rage, he had struck a ball which had struck a linesman in the throat.
Moreover, the Serbian remains in a huge disillusionment. The Belgrade native had a dream: to achieve the Golden Grand Slam, that is to say to win all four tournaments as well as Olympic gold in the same year. In the entire history of tennis, only the German Steffi Graf has achieved this performance in 1988. Bronze medalist in 2008 in Beijing, beaten in the semifinals in 2012 in London and released in the first round in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Novak Djokovic was aiming for gold in Tokyo.
But while he seemed unfazed in the semifinals, the favorite lost his footing and
was swallowed up by Alexander Zverev
, future Olympic champion. A huge underperformance for Djokovic, and a tenfold appetite for the German Zverev, very fit this summer after his gold medal followed by a victory at the
Masters 1000 in Cincinnati
. "
I'm extremely hungry,
" warned the one who could find his victim from Tokyo in the semi-finals in New York.
Novak Djokovic has already narrowly missed out on the calendar Grand Slam twice.
The first time, in 2011, he won everything except Roland-Garros (defeat in the semi-final against Federer).
The second time, in 2015, the pattern was the same, except that he lost in the final at Roland Garros (against Wawrinka).
The US Open 2021 is a golden opportunity, but the "Djoker" will have to work to engrave his name a little more in the history books.
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