(Paris) A bit like Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier, Novak Djokovic reached the bar of 23 Grand Slam titles on Sunday at Roland-Garros and seems able, on his momentum, to further push back some of the statistical limits of tennis.
“I want to make the most of this momentum, this energy I have to try to win even more Grand Slam tournaments this year,” he said on the evening of his third Parisian title.
In three weeks, Djokovic will appear as a huge favorite at Wimbledon where he will aim for an eighth title, to equal Federer’s record on the London lawn (only Martina Navratilova has done better with 9 successes). He has not been beaten there since losing in the quarterfinals in 2017, winning 28 games consecutively for four titles.
Suffice to say that very quickly, he could equal the absolute record of 24 major titles held by Margaret Court.
“I look forward to partying and having a good time with my family, with my loved ones. But we will have to quickly turn the page, because Wimbledon is coming. There isn’t much time for a big party if you want to be a candidate for another Grand Slam title, and that’s what I want,” Djokovic insisted on Sunday.
Next will be the United States Open, on hard courts, his favorite surface even if New York has smiled at him “only” three times. And early next year he is set to return to the Australian Open as favorites for a record eleventh title in Melbourne.
How many more Grand Slams can he win?
“He’s going to find the motivation to win 24, maybe 25. Who knows where it will end? asks his coach Goran Ivanisevic.
Winning all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year, which no one has done for men since Rod Laver in 1969… that would put Djokovic today out of reach of any comparison for a long time.
The Serbian had the opportunity to do so in 2021, but, overcome by emotion, he was unable to match his ultimate opponent in the US Open final, Daniil Medvedev.
“He went to a victory two years ago, he has a chance this year,” said Ivanisevic, while stressing that this deadline was “still a long way off”.
“I’m not thinking of the Grand Slam,” assured Djokovic on the evening of his victory in the semis.
He shares with Federer the record of six victories at the Masters which brings together the eight best players of the season each year. A seventh title would allow him to become the sole holder of this record. No doubt something to motivate him when the time comes, even if he always insists that it is the Grand Slam tournaments that motivate him on a daily basis.
It is perhaps this Jimmy Connors record (set in Tel Aviv in 1989) that seems the hardest to achieve.
Djokovic is at 94, like Ivan Lendl, and has his sights set on Federer’s 103 titles first.
Since the 2006 season when he won his first ATP tournament, the Serb has won an average of five per year. At this rate, he could come close to Connors in 2026.
At 36, his body is still ruthlessly efficient. Carlos Alcaraz paid to find out, he was the young man full of energy who did not withstand the physical shock imposed by Djokovic in the semi-finals in Paris.
“I think there’s still a lot of it in the engine,” Ivanisevic said. I don’t know how long he has left, but his body is amazing, he keeps himself in great shape. He’s not too injured, little things here and there, but no major injuries. He still moves like a ninja on the court, he’s everywhere. It’s fascinating to watch. »
The person concerned, he likes to think that “age is only a number”, while recognizing that now his body which he pampers with extreme attention “reacts differently”.
“I have to deal with more physical glitches than in the past. Five or six years ago, I recovered much faster, I didn’t feel as much pain as today,” he admits.
