‘If Grand Slams were best-of-three sets, Novak Djokovic would have a 100% chance of winning all four’
Nikolay Davydenko has declared that Novak Djokovic would have a “100% chance” of winning all four Grand Slams in one season if Majors used the best-of-three set format.
The former world No 3 believes a Calendar Slam becomes “more and more difficult” for the 36-year-old great to achieve every year because the five-set format “exhausts the body.”
Djokovic won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments this year – the fourth time he accomplished this following stellar campaigns in 2011, 2015 and 2021. The Serbian holds the record for the most men’s Majors with 24, with his rival Rafael Nadal second on 22.
In 2021, Djokovic won the first three Grand Slam events of the year in a historic run, but missed out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, before losing the US Open final to fall one win short of a Calendar Grand Slam.
The world No 1 will have another opportunity to complete a Golden Slam (winning all four Majors and an Olympic gold medal in a season) next year – with 2024 an Olympic year.
No male player has achieved a Golden Slam – with tennis legend Steffi Graf the only woman to accomplish the staggering feat in her amazing 1988 campaign.
In an interview with Championat, Davydenko was asked about Djokovic’s chances of winning a Golden Slam in 2024 and explained why it is such a difficult task.
“I think time passes, and every year it becomes more and more difficult to achieve. If three sets were played at the Slams, I would say that yes, there is a 100 percent chance of winning all four tournaments – this is not a five-game run,” the 42-year-old assessed.
“Like at the Masters in Paris, he once – and slammed everyone. But at the Slams there are still five-setters. It exhausts the body – playing seven matches. I don’t know how long it will last. It will be interesting to see what form he is in at the 2024 Australian Open.
“Many players are not particularly keen on going to the Olympics – it requires special preparation. Tennis players don’t have one, because the tour is on and the Olympics are on the calendar. It’s almost like a regular tournament. And whoever is in better shape at the moment will have a chance to win.”
Davydenko also shared his thoughts on the development of world No 4 Jannik Sinner, who had the best season of his career in 2023.
“I saw it live how Sinner plays and trains. He’s such a hard worker. He is trying to change the game: he skates, moves well, is physically strong, tall, serves – everything is well-established and stable for him,” the Russian said.
“Of course, he struggles with such stability. I can’t say that he demolishes everyone easily – he often plays with his character and pushes to the end. But if he only pushes through the fight, it means that something is still missing. It’s difficult to get through the entire season on willpower alone.
“You can catch some tournaments, great matches, but in order to go through the whole season like Djokovic, you need to be able to do something else. Maybe it’s psychology. But Yannick is a hard worker, he’s great. I think Sinner will continue to play like this and improve his results.”
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