History beckons Novak Djokovic in final quest for elusive Golden Slam

Novak Djokovic of Team Serbia serves in his singles match against Jiri Lehecka of Team Czech Republic during day five of the 2024 United Cup at RAC Arena on January 02, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

By Craig Ray

14 Jan 2024

There is one number that will dominate the discourse at the 2024 Australian Open, which has started in Melbourne: 25.

Serbian Novak Djokovic, now statistically the greatest men’s tennis player of all time, could cement the argument for the greatest player of all time if he wins his 11th Australian Open singles title in Melbourne. It would make it his 25th singles Grand Slam title.

No other player in the history of the sport has gone a quarter of the way to a century of major titles. Djokovic, now 36, sits on top of the pile with Australia’s Margaret Court on 24.

Djokovic couldn’t ask for a better venue to break the record. He has virtually made the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne his own – winning four of the past five men’s titles. The only one he didn’t win was when he was deported from Australia in 2022 for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

He is also coming off a brilliant 2023 in which he won three of the four Grand Slams, only missing out on Wimbledon, where he lost the final to wunderkind Carlos Alcaraz.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Djokovic wins U.S. Open for record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title

Djokovic, who is not one for platitudes and fake modesty, has stated that 2024 presents the opportunity to complete the Golden Slam – winning all four majors and the Olympic Games gold medal.

Asked about his motivations and goals for 2024, after winning the season-ending ATP Finals for a record eighth time last November, Djokovic stated, without a hint of irony: “Well, you can win four slams and an Olympic gold.”

That feat has only been achieved once before – by Germany’s Steffi Graf in 1988. This year is Djokovic’s last chance at attaining that goal but realistically, it’s a moonshot. So much has to go right, including avoiding injuries and illness.

“I have always had the highest ambitions and goals. That’s not going to be different for next year,” Djokovic said.

“The drive that I have is still there. My body has been serving me well, listening to me well. I have a great team of people around me.”

Novak Djokovic of Team Serbia serves against Jiri Lehecka of Team Czech Republic during the United Cup at RAC Arena in Perth-Australia, on 2 January 2024. (Photo: Paul Kane / Getty Images)

Consistency and excellence

Winning one Grand Slam requires winning seven five-set matches in two weeks. Doing it four times means 28 wins (Djokovic managed 27 of 28 last year) and that’s before the Olympics, which is another six rounds of matches. In short, it requires consistency of the highest level over a long period.

Long tennis matches have ebbs and flows and over five sets Djokovic won’t dominate all the time. But he has proven that when the pressure is highest, he most often finds a way.

Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, one of the men still chasing an elusive maiden Grand Slam and the 2023 losing finalist in Melbourne, described what makes Djokovic so hard to beat.

“He keeps improving constantly and I see a better Novak Djokovic now than in 2020,” Tsitsipas said in a recent interview in The Guardian.

“Against Novak you need to be in your best possible shape. There are no excuses with him. You can’t fool around for a single point so your levels of concentration against him have to be the highest that you can reach.

“It’s difficult at times to fight back and find something because he has added a lot of strategy and simplicity as well. He doesn’t overcomplicate things.

“His flexibility is mind-blowing, the way he can stretch and run, and also the precision of his shot-making. Not the tallest guy on the tour but he remains one of the toughest servers. Whenever we face Novak we know that this is a serious heist and most of the time it does not work out.”

Djokovic has already suffered an injury scare this year, hurting his wrist during a losing battle against Aussie Alex de Minaur in the United Team Cup. It was Djokovic’s first loss on Australian soil in almost five years.

“I think I’ll be okay,” Djokovic said after the match. “It did have quite an impact, particularly on the forehand and serve. I have plenty of time, I think enough time to get myself in the right shape for the Australian Open.”

Melbourne victory or bust

There is so much debate about whether Djokovic can achieve the seemingly impossible in 2024, and it all starts in Melbourne. There can be no Golden Slam for Djokovic if he fails at the Australian Open.

Alcaraz and the rising 22-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner are in hot pursuit of the Serbian. And there are a gaggle of other players such as Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Sascha Zverev lurking.

Respected coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes Djokovic could do it, despite being 36.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Does it matter if Djokovic is the GOAT or not? It’s a subjective exercise regardless of the stats

“Novak in 2024 will be as hungry as he was in 2023. He has a huge goal: He wants to establish a record of Grand Slams that will probably never, ever be beaten in history,” Mouratoglou said in a social media video last December.

“And he’s in a position to do it. He’s 36, he has 24 Grand Slams – already the record.

“He’s fresh physically and mentally. He said: ‘Why not win the four Grand Slams next year?’ Maybe it sounds crazy, but he won three this year [2023], plus one final. He was one match away from winning the four.

“He can think about it. And of course, the Olympic gold, because that’s the only title that he’s missing and he wants it. Can he do it? Yes he can do it.

“When it’s the big matches, the ones that count the most, his mental strength makes the difference.”

Just ask Tsitsipas. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R29.

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Consistency and excellence

Melbourne victory or bust