Djokovic Seeks Grand Slam Sweep, Gold Medal After Marathon Win Over Nadal
Novak Djokovic
Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic won 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, finding the energy to rip off his shirt and pound the arena walls when the match ended at 1:37 a.m.
Novak Djokovic won 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, finding the energy to rip off his shirt and pound the arena walls when the match ended at 1:37 a.m. Photographer: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic is feeling confident enough to target a tennis feat that hasn’t been accomplished in 43 years -- a men’s Grand Slam sweep.
The 24-year-old Serb, who battled Rafael Nadal for 5 hours, 53 minutes two days ago to win the Australian Open final, said he’s aiming to capture all four majors this year.
“Grand Slams and the Olympics are my biggest priority,” Djokovic told a small group of reporters. “It’s an ultimate challenge to win all four Grand Slams, but the way I’m playing right now I have a game that is good enough to win the titles on all surfaces and I have proven that.”
Last weekend’s match with Nadal in Melbourne was the longest Grand Slam final in history, and gave the top-ranked Djokovic his third Australian title. He won 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, finding the energy to rip off his shirt and pound the arena walls when the match ended at 1:37 a.m.
The 24-year-old Serb fell two wins short of completing a calendar-year sweep of the majors in 2011, losing in the semifinals of the French Open to Roger Federer. A victory in Paris this June would give him all four Grand Slam titles at the same time. He’s reached the semifinals in Paris three times.
Djokovic joined Nadal, Federer, Pete Sampras and Rod Laver as the only players to have won three majors in a row since the sport went professional in 1968. Only two men have managed to win all four of the sport’s biggest tournaments in a single year. Laver, who presented Djokovic with the Australian Open trophy in front of a packed arena that bears his name, did it in 1962 and 1969, while Don Budge of the U.S. achieved the feat in 1938.
Steffi Graf is the last singles player to sweep the majors, in 1988, when she also won the Olympic women’s gold medal in Seoul.
‘Everything Possible’
“Obviously the times are different and tennis nowadays is much more competitive and much more physical and that makes the challenge more difficult to achieve,” Djokovic added. “But everything is possible.”
Djokovic said back-to-back victories over Nadal in clay- court finals in Madrid and Rome last year, when he opened the season with 41 straight wins before losing to Federer in Paris, have given him confidence and self-belief going into the European clay swing that culminates with the French Open, where Nadal has won six titles in the past seven years.
The victory at Rod Laver Arena extended Djokovic’s winning streak in title matches against Nadal to seven. He last lost to the Spaniard at the ATP World Tour Finals in 2010.
Djokovic also took the championship in Melbourne 12 months ago, sparking a season in which he won 10 tournaments, grabbed the No. 1 ranking from Nadal and secured a season-record $12.6 million in prize money. A successful title defense may give him a similar platform for 2012, he said.
‘Gave Me Wings’
“At the end of 2010 I won the Davis Cup and then the Australian Open and that gave me wings, a strong wind in the back,” Djokovic said. “I felt so good coming back to Europe and then taking some rest. It’s just a different way of looking at your upcoming tournaments because the year has just started and you already have one Grand Slam. For confidence and for mental strength and approach, it means a lot.”
Holding off Nadal, a 10-time major winner, in their near six-hour contest also provides a boost, he said. The match surpassed the previous record for a Grand Slam final of 4 hours, 54 minutes between Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander at the 1988 U.S. Open. It was also the longest match at the Australian Open, which was hosting its 100th men’s championship.
“The facts are that I am at the peak of my career and I feel physically and mentally at the peak,” Djokovic said. “I feel that there are many more majors and tournaments that I want to win and to prove to myself and to everybody else that I still have qualities and abilities to achieve those big things.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Baynes at Melbourne Park at dbaynes@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at celser@bloomberg.net
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