Novak Djokovic: Slow start, total re-set and a Slam zoom

When Novak Djokovic wrapped his hands around a Grand Slam trophy for the first time at the 2008 Australian Open, Roger Federer was already 12-time champion. Pete Sampras's all-time men's Slam record of 14, although under genuine threat from the sublime Swiss, still stood tall.

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Twenty-three seemed a long way off then. For anybody. Certainly so for the man who got there on Sunday by winning the French Open.

For good reason too. It took three years and 13 attempts for Djokovic to finally get hold of a Grand Slam after his debut at that stage, and another two years and 12 attempts for the next. His physical issues often flared up in Slams; save the 2008 season, he had one mid-match retirement every year in a Slam between 2005 and 2009. He would lose more than win against Federer, then the king-in-command, and Rafael Nadal, then the prince-in-waiting.

Essentially a two-horse race, Federer was on 16 Slams and Nadal on nine at the start of the 2011 season. Then the third of the trio bolted, and against odds of all types and kinds, whizzed past the pace-setting duo.

Djokovic's incredible upswing intensified with two blocks of dominance. The Serb won four of the five Slams between the 2011 and 2012 Australian Open, notching up a memorable 41-match unbeaten run in 2011. His 2015-2016 reign was even better, winning five of the first six Slams while only losing the 2015 French Open final to Stan Wawrinka.

However, it’s the sustained soar to follow a commanding peak that has truly set him free, and apart from his Big Three colleagues, in scaling the statistical summit of greatness.

Djokovic celebrated his 30th birthday in May 2017, the year marked by the revival of his rivals—Nadal and Federer combined to take three of the four Slams—and his own Major-less outings. Since turning 30 as a 12-time champion though, Djokovic has won 11 of the 19 Slams he has stepped foot in. By winning his 20th Slam at Wimbledon, Djokovic drew level with Federer and Nadal for the first time in 2021.

Rewind a decade prior to that at the start of 2011, and the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic Slam count was 16-9-1.

“Pretty decent 12 years, I've got to say,” Djokovic said with a smile after his win on Sunday. “I've managed to manage my own body, my own emotions and the team of people around me in such a way to be able to peak on the most important tournaments in the world, which are Grand Slams.”

Managing body

Managing the body has been a key factor to the post-thirty, thirstier Djokovic. Let alone the breakdown tendency in the midst of Slams, Djokovic has not had a significant physical setback since missing the 2017 US Open due to an elbow injury and a subsequent surgery at the start of 2018. Aside the vaccine misses of last year, the 36-year-old has competed in every Slam in that period. The sidelined Nadal, meanwhile, has been forced to skip five Slams in the last three years and the retired Federer four of his career’s last seven.

In a book titled ‘Serve to Win’ authored by him, Djokovic mentions how the switch to a gluten-free diet changed his life, “because I had begun to eat the right foods for my body, in the way that my body demanded”. In admitting that his ageing body increasingly takes a lot more beating now, Djokovic has however managed to deal with those minor fitness issues with a single-minded focus of playing and winning Slams.

And come show time, it doesn’t seem to hamper his act. Djokovic hurt his leg during the ATP event in Adelaide earlier this year, yet it did not prove to be a factor in his Australian Open run. Issues with the elbow troubled him during the clay season, yet it didn’t disrupt his French Open run.

Early losses

An often underrated talking point in the entire GOAT discussion is the head-to-head stat. Djokovic flaunts a superior record against Nadal (30-29) and Federer (27-23).

The early trends in the growing rivalry and evolution of the Big Three had painted a different picture. In his first six matches against the Swiss and the Spaniard, Djokovic won just once. It took him six cracks to get past Nadal in a Slam, and three against Federer.

Those reality-check defeats against the two guys who, in his own words, have defined him as a player, compelled Djokovic to dig deep and emerge a stronger tennis player.

“When I won my first Grand Slam at the 2008 Australian Open I thought, ‘well, OK I just entered and now it’s going to be happening for me more often’. But it wasn't the case for three years. I was doubting myself, I was struggling a lot to win against these guys, to make that final step on the biggest stages and biggest matches.” Djokovic told Tennis Channel. “So, I went back and I questioned everything I was doing, in terms of training, mental preparation, physical one, and just went deep into the analysis of my entire personality.”

History chaser

Djokovic is a personality that doesn’t shy away from dreaming big and saying it out loud. In contrast to Federer and Nadal, who have usually downplayed the significance of records and context of numbers while talking about the trio’s rivalry, Djokovic had made his history-chasing ambitions and intentions aptly clear.

“I have always compared myself to these guys, because those two are the two greatest rivals I ever had in my career,” Djokovic said. “It was just those two guys occupying my mind for the past 15 years quite a lot—in a professional sense. It's amazing to know that I’m one ahead of both of them in Majors.”

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