 "Novak Djokovic poses with the trophy after winning the French Open and his 23rd Grand Slam. Photo: Reuters")
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic lifted the Roland Garros 2023 trophy after a scintillating 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Norwegian Casper Rudd. With this win, the 36-year-old has now reached the tally of 23 Grand Slam titles, the most by any male and joint second-most by any tennis player (equalled Serena Williams) behind Margret Court’s record of 24 titles.
But does this mean that Djokovic, who is lovingly called as Djoker by his fans, is now the greatest men's singles tennis player of all time? Statistically, yes, because he now has more Grand Slam win than anybody else. His closest rival is Spaniard Rafale Nadal, who did not compete at his favourite tournament -- French Open -- this season.
Nadal is not in his prime (age 37) and is unlikely to compete at Grand Slams often. Maybe, the fans will see him one last time at French Open next year. Thus, the road for the Djoker is clear as he is the most athletic player on the court even at 36. He could reach the magical number of 25 and it might come this year itself with two slams left.
Here’s what the Serb has been able to achieve so far in World Tennis.
Only male to win the four Grand Slams at least thrice
With this win at the French Open, Djokovic became the only male player to have won all four grand slams at least thrice. Among the players with 20 Grand Slam titles, Nadal has been able to win only two Wimbledon titles, Roger Federer has only one French Open to his name.
Most weeks as the number one ranked Tennis Player
More From This Section
Djokovic also regained his number one position in the ATP Ranking system, taking his run at the numero uno position to record 388 weeks. The closest competitor, Federer had only 310 weeks at the top during his entire career. He has surpassed even Steffi Graf who had been ranked number one by the WTA for 377 weeks.
Most ATP 1000 titles, joint most ATP World Tour Finals
Apart from most Grand Slams and most weeks spent at number one rankings, the ‘rubber man’ of tennis also has the most ATP 1000 Masters titles to his name. ATP Masters is a series of nine Opens held across the world in a calendar year by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Djokovic has won 38 titles with the last one being the Italian Open in 2022. His closest competitor yet again is Nadal with 36 titles to his name. Federer has 28.
Djokovic also holds the record for most ATP World Tour Finals victories (year-ending ATP tournament). He has won it six times (same as Federer) and the last victory came in 2022 when he beat Casper Rudd in the final in Turin, Italy.
What Djokovic has not been able to achieve
Famous Indian poet Nida Fazli once wrote "har kisi ko mukammal jahan nahi milta", which loosely translates to, “everyone is not lucky enough to have the best of both worlds.” This stands true for every GOAT in every sport. And same goes for Djokovic.
An Olympic gold still eludes Djoker.
While Djokovic has every title in the world credited to him, in his four attempts in the last 12 years, the Serb has not been able to win the Gold medal. His biggest achievement has been in the bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Ever since he has faltered at some point or the other. Maybe 2024 could be his year.
Win-loss record in the Grand Slam and ATP Masters: Nadal has the edge
Though Djokovic has won the most number of Grand Slams and ATP 1000 events, his win-loss record in Majors finals stands at 23-11 which would result in a win percentage of 67.74. In ATP Masters, Djokovic has a win-loss record of 389-86. His win percentage at ATP Masters is 81.89.
Nadal has the edge over the Serb in both the Grand Slam finals and ATP Masters win-loss record. In the Majors finals, Nadal has a win-loss record of 22-8, which when converted to percentage becomes 73.33. In ATP Masters, Nadal’s win-loss record stands at 406-88, which converts to 82.19 per cent.
Winning all four Grand Slams in a calendar year is a dream
Rod Laver (1962) is the only male tennis player and Steffi Graff (1988) is the only female tennis player to have won all four Grand Slams in a single calendar year in the Open Era. Djokovic has had the opportunity to hold all four slams together, but that has been in a non-calendar year.
The feat was achieved by the Serb in the 2015-16 season, where he went on to win the Wimbledon 2015, US Open 2015, Australian Open 2016 and French Open 2016 in a row. Between Nadal and Federer, none have been able to achieve the feat of holding all four majors even in a non-calender year.
Having won the Australian Open and the French Open and heading to Wimbledon with the record by his side, Djokovic, who thrives on pressure would be backed to the brim by the critics to complete the feat of winning all four Grand Slams in a calendar year.
