Novak Djokovic is the longtime tennis prince that finally became king – and there is plenty more history to be made at Wimbledon this year for the 36-year-old Serb, who has not lost on the grass courts of London SW19 for six years.
World No2 Djokovic arrives for the defence of last year’s title as now the winner of a record 23 grand slam titles, having already lifted the trophies in Melbourne and Paris in 2023. That saw him edge ahead of Rafa Nadal’s tally of 22, having previously overtaken his other huge playing rival Roger Federer’s total of 20.
The glorious triumvirate have taken men’s tennis to a new plane over their careers, with Switzerland’s Federer the only one to have called it a day but Spain’s Nadal – absent from this year’s Wimbledon - looking as though his battered body may not be able to be pushed that much further.
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All of which has left Djokovic with very strong and at one time perhaps unexpected claims to being the men’s tennis’s GOAT, or ‘greatest of all time’ – though it should be pointed out that Serena Williams also won 23 on the women’s singles side and that still did not equal Margaret Court’s historic haul of 24.
Given it was technically a ‘day off’ between tournaments, Djokovic was busy on Thursday – first heading for Centre Court itself at Wimbledon for an arranged practice with rising star Jannik Sinner of Italy.
And he then got in a car and made the short trip to the exclusive Hurlingham Club in Putney for an appearance in the Giorgio Armani Classic and a semi-competitive exhibition match with the USA’s Frances Tiafoe, who enjoyed a breakthrough run to the semis at the US Open last year.
There are devotees of both Federer and French Open specialist Nadal who still struggle to accept that even a record total of slams mean Djokovic is the best to ever wield a racket. But leaving aside his record 10 Australian Open crowns, if Djokovic wins Wimbledon once more this time he will edge ahead of Pete Sampras and match Federer’s unmatched eight slam successes on the grass.
It is 54 years since Rod Laver did the calendar grand slam, but if Djokovic can strike again at Wimbledon he will have won the first three in 2023, and give himself another shot at it in New York at the US Open, where he was not able to compete last year due to vaccination rules.
And any opponents on the show courts this year in the days ahead should probably look away now, if they have not already done so. Djokovic has more wins at Wimbledon than the rest of the current top 20 combined. And more majors than the rest of the field combined – just the 20 more than the likes of Andy Murray, among his nearest competitors.
If Djokovic wins again this year in the 136th staging of the Championships it will the fourth time he was won three majors in a year – something no player has achieved. And he has the chance to win the same grand slam five years in a row, something he has never done, and a feat that only Bjorn Borg (1976-80) and Federer (2003-07) have managed at Wimbledon.
Seven wins and an eighth crown could also give Djokovic the best winning percentage in history in the men’s singles – putting him just ahead of Pete Sampras, whose current record of 63 wins and 7 losses give him a percentage of exactly 90. The Serb lies just behind on 89.6 per cent, with an 86-10 record.
And another triumph, one that might make it very difficult for Nadal to respond from two adrift in whatever time he has left in the sport, would make it the 12th grand slam after turning 30 for Djokovic - an incredible run that is largely responsible for propelling him top the top of the tree.
Djokovic chose not to play any of the traditional pre-Wimbledon grass-court tournaments in the last four weeks, opting instead for intense practice – bar Thursday’s game against Tiafoe.
And in truth it would be hard to draw too many hard and fast conclusions about the state of Djokovic’s game on grass from an encounter often played at times in the first set at near walking pace, and featuring plenty of humour, banter, crowd-pleasing shots and moments that will not be there when it really matters.
His serve looked in very good nick though, and after an early break to go 2-0 up Djokovic closed out any chances Tiafoe did have to claim a routine first set 6-3. But in the second set Tiafoe considerably raised his level, finding winners easier to come by and after getting the break for 5-3 closing it out with a serve that had also started to fire to force a 10-point tiebreak. And Djokovic, a master of the sudden-death set shootouts this year, went on to win that 10-7.
Djokovic said afterwards: “It was fun, I enjoyed the match and I get on well with Frances. It was great to get some match-play on grass ahead of Wimbledon for me, and I hope everyone watching enjoyed it too.”
Refusing an invitation to try some of the turf at Hurlingham, Djokovic added: “I only eat Wimbledon grass! I practised also with Jannik Sinner today on Centre Court. Wimbledon is the most traditional, historic tournament in the world, and I am sure I am not the only player that dreamed of playing Wimbledon and winning Wimbledon.
“It is a little bit surprising that they let us on there on Centre Court to practice before it starts, because that was never the case before, with last year being the first time. So it was a privilege to get on there and have a 45-minute hit, and the court is as good as it can be on grass. It is the best grass court in the world, Centre Court, and probably the best known tennis stadium anywhere.
“Every year playing there is like the first time. Wimbledon breeds history, with all the greats that have played and won there and paved the way for the rest of us. Hopefully we will all have another great year there.”
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