Former player explains what makes Novak Djokovic different from others

11/19/2024 04:00 PM

Novak Djokovic is the most successful tennis player of all time, and his ability to break every record has truly shocked the whole world. Almost no one thought that the Serbian champion could surpass two legends like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the all-time ranking of the Slams, but Nole never gave up and his perseverance allowed him to overcome his limits.

The 37-year-old from Belgrade has won 24 Grand Slam titles and is still motivated, although he has not won a single title this season. The former world No. 1 lost the Wimbledon Championships final to Carlos Alcaraz and seemed to be down from previous years, but reiterated that tennis is still a priority for him at almost 38 years old.

2024 gave Novak one of the greatest joys of his career, having allowed him to win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics during the summer. Djokovic has never hidden that he has been chasing that goal throughout his career and triumphing in his last participation in the Olympics had an even more special value.

The Serbian legend did not play the last events of the 2024 season, wanting to rest and prepare well for the upcoming season. Nole will play a tournament in early 2025, before traveling to Melbourne for the Australian Open.

Despite being the tennis player who has won the most in the history of this sport, Djokovic has had a hard time receiving the credit he deserves. There is no doubt that Novak is less loved by fans than Federer and Nadal, whose rivalry has transcended tennis. Novak has never been afraid to expose himself and make very strong statements, unlike his two great rivals.

In a long interview with 'Tennis365', former player Conor Niland explained why he appreciates Djokovic more than Roger and Rafa: “I would have liked to have seen Rafa Nadal speak out a little bit more for some of the guys ranked between 100 and 300 players.

Sometimes I felt with Rafa that if you were not at the top of the game he wasn’t interested.

By contrast, Djokovic has spoken up for players who are struggling to make their way on the tour financially, but Federer and Nadal haven’t really done that.

Djokovic seems to understand that it’s lopsided and it needs a bit of work, so he deserves some credit for that, but he has divided opinion a lot more.

At times, people didn’t like him even when he was doing nothing wrong as he was disrupting the Federer and Nadal's iconic rivalry.

Then it was the vaccine issue, the chaos in Australia when he was deported and at a time when everyone was really divided, he stoked the fire a little at that time.”

The 24-time Grand Slam champion wants to win the 2025 Australian Open, knowing that it is one of the tournaments in which he has the best chance of achieving another success. Novak has triumphed ten times at Melbourne Park and has always expressed his best tennis on those courts, although he was eliminated by World No.1 Jannik Sinner in the semifinals in 2024.

The other tournament on which the Serbian is 'betting' is certainly the Wimbledon Championships, in which he reached the final this year despite the precarious condition of his knee. It is more difficult for Nole to win his 25th Grand Slam title at the French Open or the US Open, where there are several opponents who are in better position than him.

There is a lot of anticipation to see what Djokovic's draw will be in Melbourne, as he will be seeded number 7. The Serbian legend may have to face Sinner, Alcaraz or Zverev already in the quarterfinals in the first Major of the season.

On the latest edition of the ‘Inside-In’ podcast, former World No.1 Jim Courier spoke about Novak’s future: "Novak, I think, will continue to stay around and be a problem for the top guys. But it's going to be up to him how much he is going to engage with them, and it's certainly not going to be on a full level. So, this year is, no question, a big shift. All four of the Majors went to the youth.”

The Serbian ace's last win in a Grand Slam tournament was at the 2023 US Open, when he came very close to completing the 'Calendar Grand Slam'. If he hadn't lost the Wimbledon final to Carlitos Alcaraz, the legend from Belgrade would have reached this incredible milestone as well. Djokovic had already come close to that goal in 2021, when he lost to Medvedev in the US Open final.