For much of his career, Novak Djokovic has been chasing his greatest rivals, tennis titans Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. And before the rise of the “Big Three," there were other greats, like Rod Laver, Ivan Lendl, Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, and Andre Agassi – the list goes on and on.
Before Federer came along, American tennis star Pete Sampras held the record for most men’s singles Grand Slam titles, with 14. It seemed incredible when Federer broke his record in 2009 and continued adding titles to his tally. But before long, Nadal and Djokovic were also closing in and surpassing Sampras’s record, and it was a battle to see which of the three men would finish their careers with the most – and just how high that number would be.
Federer retired last year with 20 Slams. Nadal currently has 22 Slams and has announced that 2024 will be his last year playing. Earlier this month, at the French Open, 36-year-old Djokovic (the youngest of the "Big Three") earned his 23rd Slam in a three-set victory over 24-year-old Casper Ruud, 24. Barring an unexpected resurgence from Nadal next year, Djokovic will finish the “race” with the most Slams. But that’s far from the only way Djokovic has come to assert his dominance over the men’s game.
Federer, Nadal, and other active and retired players still hold plenty of records themselves. It seems mind-boggling that Nadal’s 14 French Opens will ever be broken, though Federer’s 8 Wimbledons may be surpassed by Djokovic as early as next month. And of course, some say that greatness should not be judged purely by the numbers. Federer’s elegant play and one-handed backhand are nearly universally lauded, while Nadal’s perseverance and fightback are equally well-respected. But based on records alone, it’s hard to see anyone else approaching Djokovic. He has spent the most weeks at Number 1 (389 weeks so far, though Federer has the consecutive-weeks record with 237) and recently passed Steffi Graf to become the tennis player with the most weeks at #1, male or female.
He also has the most ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles (38). And not only is he the only player to have won all 9 Masters events (the Career Golden Masters), but he’s done it twice. He is also the only man to win each Grand Slam three times or more – 10 Australian Opens, 7 Wimbledons, 3 French Opens, and 3 US Opens.
One of the few achievements that eludes Djokovic is the calendar-year Grand Slam, though he is off to a good start this year, having won the Australian Open and the French Open. He would need to win Wimbledon and the US Open this summer to achieve something not done by a male player since Rod Laver in 1969. However, Djokovic has already won all four majors consecutively, starting with Wimbledon in 2015 and ending with the French Open in 2016.
There's no stopping Novak:
- It hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing for Djokovic in recent years, and much younger players like Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz are beginning to win their own Slam titles and compete with Djokovic for the #1 ranking.
- Jimmy Connors has long held the record for most ATP titles, with 109, but Djokovic, with 94, probably has that in his sights. Only Serena Williams, with 23, and Margaret Court, with 24, are in his league in terms of Grand Slam singles tiles – though as Williams retired last year and Court stopped playing in 1977, Djokovic looks like he will come out ahead in the end.
- Another achievement that has eluded Djokovic is an Olympic gold medal. Perhaps the greatest achievement of his career would be winning the Golden Slam next year – all four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold in a single calendar year, a feat achieved by Steffi Graf in 1988.
