A jubilant Novak Djokovic strutted across the manicured grounds of Melbourne’s Government House on Monday with the gleaming Australian Open trophy in hand, capping off an unimaginable victory so as to add to his already spectacular ten titles and additional cementing his standing because the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT).
But wait, is he the Greatest Of All Time for actual?
That debate might by no means be settled, however whether it is to be determined purely by way of important championship success, it now strikes on to the French Open within the European spring, with the Serbian and Rafael Nadal tied on 22 titles.
While the blue courts of Melbourne Park are undoubtedly Djokovic’s area, the purple clay courts of Roland Garros are the protect of Spaniard Nadal, the opposite open-era GOAT contender, and 20-times Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
Federer is now retired and despatched his congratulations to Djokovic on Instagram – “Incredible effort, again!” – however Nadal was again in Spain being handled for the most recent in a collection of accidents which have blighted his profession.
The 36-year-old is assured he’ll recuperate from the hip flexor concern he sustained on the Australian Open to pull his battered physique to Paris in May in a bid for a fifteenth French Open title.
And, regardless of a hamstring concern that hindered him all year long’s first Grand Slam, Djokovic left little doubt that he would even be there attempting to win important quantity 23.
“I think there’s still a lot of that fire inside of me that is burning of passion for the sport and competition, and I think that’s what allows me to push myself to the limit still,” he stated Monday. “In the apply classes, day in, day trip, after so a few years of going via the identical routines, repetitively, that generally isn’t so fulfilling.
“But I know that there is always a greater goal and a guiding star, so to say, and this trophy is one of those guiding stars, which I always strive to achieve.”
While the resilience proven by Djokovic and Nadal means males’s tennis can proceed to benefit from the again finish of essentially the most glittering of golden eras, girls’s tennis continues with its first season, attempting to fill the void left by Serena Williams.
When match, the American, dominated the ladies’s recreation for the most effective of 20 years whereas hoovering up 23 Grand Slam singles titles – a tally solely bettered by Australian Margaret Court (24) principally within the beginner period.
Even if Djokovic’s opposition to COVID-19 vaccines retains him out of the U.S. Open for a second yr working, Sunday’s title put him firmly in touching distance of these tallies.
“I don’t want to stop here,” he stated after the ultimate.
“I haven’t got any intention of stopping right here. I really feel nice about my tennis. I do know that when I’m feeling good bodily, and mentally current, I can win any slam towards anyone.
“I like my chances going forward.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com
