Novak Djokovic, world No. 1 and favourite in all the major grand slams this year, is in the form of his life. It seems hard to imagine anyone getting the better of him right now, and with that in mind-is he poised to overtake Roger Federer and become the greatest tennis player of all time?
Federer currently holds the record in terms of major grand slams with 17, and at the age of 34 he looks to be slowing down, and is unlikely to add to this tally. For a long time he has been regarded as the very best tennis player who ever lived, but Djokovic could soon be about to eclipse the Swiss.
The Serbian international is 28 now, and in the prime of his tennis career. Unless he suffers from a major injury he still has a good few years of title challenging ahead of him. As the French Open and Wimbledon rapidly approach, many are already speculating how many trophies Djokovic will add this year. He already has 11 singles titles and is ranked joint fourth in the open era alongside Bjorn Borg.
Djokovic started 2016 in style by defeating Andy Murray in the Australian Open final, and many think this is a statement of things to come. The general belief now is that none of his closest rivals including Murray, Federer, and Rafa Nadal, can come close to him. With the French Open just around the corner, sales of Roland Garros tickets will be on the rise as people prepare to flock to see whether he will win there for the first time.
If Djokovic wins everything this year he will be three grand slams short of equalling Federer’s record. But what is the likelihood of him making a sweep for all the major titles in one year? If he was to win everything he would achieve something that Federer never managed. Djokovic has come close on a couple of occasions, in 2011 and last year, where he won all the majors expect the elusive French Open. If he does manage to pick up a trophy at Roland Garros this year, it would not be out of the question to suggest that he would go on to a clean sweep.
Perhaps the biggest threat to him achieving this feat is Nadal, who has a history of success in the French Open that has earned him the nickname of “The King of Clay”. Nadal’s last major was the French Open in 2014, and since then injuries have affected him. Many though, including Boris Becker, believe that the Spaniard can rediscover his form and may be the one to stop the Djokovic juggernaut.
There are certainly exciting times ahead in the tennis world this year, something to look forward to alone is just witnessing the quality of tennis that will be on show. But it will also be very interesting to see if Djokovic can keep up this immaculate form and continue on the path to becoming the greatest of all time.
