How Novak Djokovic can ‘separate himself’ from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in GOAT debate at SW19
Mats Wilander feels Novak Djokovic has a good chance of putting space between himself and Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in terms of discussions about the greatest tennis player of all time.
Fresh from winning a record 23rd major after notching up a third title at Roland Garros, Djokovic is looking to complete the third leg of a Calendar Grand Slam at Wimbledon as he also won the Australian Open at the start of the year.
It is the second time that the Serbian finds himself within touching distance of winning all four majors in one year as in 2021 he won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon before his hopes went up in smoke at the US Open when he lost in the final against Daniil Medvedev.
Besides a Calendar Slam, he can also extend the gap between himself and Nadal in terms of most majors won by a man as he would move two ahead of the Spanaird with victory at SW19 while he would also tie Margaret Court’s record of 24 for most Slams won by a man or woman.
Naturally, there will be a lot of pressure on the Serbian, but former world No 1 Wilander feels Djokovic will have learned a lot from his experience two years ago and the fact that he can win a Calendar Grand Slam and most likely end any GOAT discussion.
“I mean, the pressure is on for Novak big time because obviously, if he wins, he ties Margaret Court at 24 Grand Slams,” he told Eurosport.
“If he wins, he’s now one Slam away from doing the Calendar Grand Slam again. And if he wins, you would think that he’s put himself far enough away in the distance from Rafael Nadal to come after him and actually threaten his record.
“So I think the weight of expectations is there, but I don’t think that it’s quite there yet. I would think that he’s learned a tremendous amount from losing in that final at the US Open against Daniil Medvedev when literally history was on the line and winning the Calendar Grand Slam. Of course it has been done before, but Novak would separate himself from the other big two, Roger and Rafa.
“So this time I think Wimbledon is a little bit more relaxed for him. I do think that he goes into the tournament thinking that, okay, a grass court is very uncomfortable for most players. At least this is the way I see it. To me, there’s a few players that he can lose to, but I don’t see that many players that can win the tournament.
“Whereas when you go and look at the US Open or the Australian Open, there are many, many more players that can have a great two weeks and can win it here. No one really feels comfortable on a grass court apart from maybe Novak Djokovic. And the reason why he feels comfortable, I think, is because he knows the other players are feeling uncomfortable.”
Carlos Alcaraz is expected to be Djokovic’s main rival at Wimbledon after he won his maiden title on grass at Queen’s Club last week. However, the Spaniard has limited experience on the surface as he has played only 11 matches while his best performance at SW19 is a run to the fourth round last year.
Wilander added: “Of course, Carlos Alcaraz with the win in Queen’s is very dangerous. But can he have learned in just one year on grass courts and not that many matches? Can he have learned enough to threaten Novak? I don’t think so.
“I think the pressure is on in a way. But he’s healthy, he looks young. I think he can win Wimbledon next year if he doesn’t win it this year. So I think he’s got more time on his side than I think we most probably realise, because it’s just not normal to have more time when you’re 36 years old and you’re winning everything already.”
