Novak Djokovic’s recent dominance in the grand slams has earned him praise from the only man to win all four major titles within the same year.
Rod Laver has said the world No.1 plays ‘his best tennis’ during the important moments of the sport. Djokovic is currently on a 21-match winning streak in the grand slams. Should he claim the French Open title, he would be the champion of all four tournaments at once for the second time in his career. Something that has only ever been accomplished by Laver in 1962 and 1969.
“Novak is certainly unbelievably talented to be able to maintain these extended periods of dominance. I’m not quite sure how he does it in today’s game,” Laver said during an interview with ATPTour.com. “He is such a great competitor and he plays his best tennis at the important times.”
Unlike Naomi Osaka in the women’s game, Djokovic’s No.1 ranking is not on the line in Paris. In fact, he could not win a single point in the tournament and still be on the top of the rankings in two weeks time. Thanks to his recent dominance in the biggest events of the sport.
“He has held all four titles at one time in the past,” Laver said of Djokovic. “It’s unbelievable. He is a great talent and he is playing well again. He is serving well, his groundstrokes are holding up, he enjoys coming to the net and does a lot of drop shots, which is a great tactic on clay.”
It isn’t just the non-calendar grand slam double Djokovic is on the verge of achieving. Should he win, he would become the first player in the Open Era to win every major tournament twice. Rod Laver has achieved that honour, but some of his wins were during the amateur era (prior to 1969).
“For me, there is an extra motivation and incentive to win Roland Garros because of the opportunity to hold all four slams, something I did three years ago in my career, and that gives me obviously enough reason to believe I can do it again.” Djokovic explained during his press conference on Sunday.
“I love playing at Roland Garros always throughout my career, and especially in the last four or five years I received a lot of support from the French crowd and also international crowd that comes here. And I think because of that support, I also managed to win this title in 2016.”
The 32-year-old currently has a 83% winning record at the tournament. Besides winning in 2016, he has also featured in the final three other times. Prior to this year, he has won 63 out of 76 matches played in the French capital.
Djokovic will open his 2019 campaign on Monday against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
Djokovic in the majors
French Open highlights
Champion – 2016
Runner-up – 2012, 2014 and 2015
Semi-finalist – 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2013
Grand Slam titles
Australian Open: Champion in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2019
French Open: Champion in 2016
Wimbledon: Champion in 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2018
US Open: Champion in 2011, 2015 and 2018
Total titles = 15 (third highest of all time)
