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GenNext’s wait to get to the top of the tree in international tennis will continue at least into 2024. Novak Djokovic has no intention to abdicate the throne on which he has been sitting regally for 400 weeks in a record 13 different years while finishing as the year end No 1 a record eight times.
The word `record’ and Djokovic go together aptly. He has achieved things round the tennis circuit which no player has done before. The most prestigious is of course his all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles including a record ten Australian Open titles.
But there are other marks that have been set by the now 36-year-old Serb, that have been beyond the reach of others before him, and dare one say will be beyond the reach for any player in future. He has a record 71 big titles, a record 40 Masters and won a record seven ATP Tour finals.
Djokovic is the only man in tennis history to be the reigning champion of all four Majors at once across three different surfaces. He is the only man to achieve a triple career Grand Slam and the only player to complete a Career Golden Masters, a feat he has achieved twice. And with 98 ATP Tour titles he is only behind Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103). Surely it is only a matter of time before he goes past them and sets a new benchmark.
Even for a player who has raised the bar when it comes to skill, fitness and mental strength one would think he has done enough to be already hailed as the Greatest Of All time (GOAT), ahead of his two greatest rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
But Djokovic’s hunger for success is clearly insatiable. For 2024 he has already set for himself a goal – a Golden Slam which comprises winning all four Grand Slams together with an Olympic gold medal. That is something that even Djokovic has not achieved and one is sure he will go all out to fulfil his goal. Incidentally no man has accomplished this feat which has been done only by Steffi Graf in 1988.
“Well, you can win four Slams and an Olympic gold and I have always had the highest ambitions and goals. It is not going to be any different next year,’’ said Djokovic after winning the ATP Tour finals on Sunday, defeating Jannik Sinner 14 years his junior before his home crowd in Turin, Italy.
Clearly he has the drive and motivation to keep going. He can look back with pride and a sense of fulfilment. As he put it, “One of the best seasons I have had, four out of five tournaments I couldn’t ask for more to be honest.’’ Djokovic was referring to his three Grand Slams and the ATP Tour finals and even at Wimbledon he reached the final where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets.
The greatest thing about Djokovic is that he has had to ward off the challenge from a really competitive field. First, there was Federer and Nadal and lately from a whole bunch of very promising GenNext players.
Initially he was under the shadow of his two rivals biding his time as Federer and Nadal were winning the Grand Slams. But once he won his first Major (the Australian Open in 2008) there has been no turning back. In fact he has gone from strength to strength first equalling their record Grand Slam titles and then going ahead this year by winning No’s 22, 23 and 24. This has put him a clear two ahead of Nadal who has announced his intention to retire next year while Federer with 20 is already retired.
In the last few years first it was the quartet of Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev who posed a serious challenge to the `Big Three’ as they were then. In the last couple of years even as Thiem has faltered and slipped out of the top 100 the others are still around.
Lately they have been joined by the likes of Alcaraz, Sinner, Holger Rune, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev, But while winning several tournaments around the ATP circuit they have generally come a cropper when it comes to the Grand Slams or the ATP Tour finals.
Alcaraz is the only one to win two Grand Slam titles and this went a long way to making him briefly No 1. Right now however he occupies the No 2 slot some distance behind Djokovic.
Apart from his other qualities which has made him near invincible around the circuit for so very long, Djokovic has this ability to raise the level of his game to an optimum level whenever required. The manner in which he won a record breaking seventh ATP Tour title on Sunday (he went past Federer’s mark of six) had an imperious flourish about it for with clinical precision he dispatched Alcaraz in the semifinal and hometown favourite Sinner both in straight sets.
It will take a superhuman effort from the whole set of GenNext players to try and topple Djokovic from his lofty pedestal but from the manner the seemingly ageless wonder is playing and with his incredible mental strength and a clear focus on his goals one cannot see that happening. In any case for yet another year he will be the player to beat in 2024.
