Novak Djokovic has never been one to shy away from his own talent; he is undoubtedly the best tennis player on the planet right now, and has been for some time. The Serb has gone from strength to strength since his incredible run in 2011; proving to the entire tennis world he has his eyes set firmly on greatness. Will this be the year when Novak claims the French Open, or will he achieve an even bigger prize?
Novak Djokovic has demonstrated, as he has many times, that he was once again too good for his opponent when he battled Andy Murray in the first grand-slam final of the year. The world number one came through a tough match to win 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-0 in just short of four hours to accomplish an open-era record fifth Australian Open title, overtaking both Roger Federer and Andre Agassi.
Djokovic’s triumph was his third win over the British number one Murray in a Melbourne final and brought him his eighth Grand Slam title, leaving the tennis world questioning just how many more will he claim in 2015.
The 27-year-old Serbian had his greatest achievement off the court in 2014 getting married to long term girlfriend Jelena Ristic not to mention the birth of his first child; his son Stefan. The Australian Open was Djokovic’s first Grand-slam as a father; the birth of his son has obviously given him confidence, with the loss of only two matches since the US Open last year.
Despite his many achievements on and off the court there is one prize which still eludes him; The French Open. Should Djokovic manage to win on the red dirt of Roland Garros he will undoubtedly go down as one of the best players to ever grace a tennis court.
It is of course no secret that Novak wants to win The French Open, teaming up with former Roland Garros champion Boris Becker to help him achieve just that. Novak made it one step closer than he had previously by making it to the final in 2014; losing to Rafael Nadal. Rafa has been the king of clay since winning his first grand-slam aged 19 in 2005, however his recent form and continuous ailments pose the question of his ability to stay toe-to-toe with the likes of Djokovic, Federer and Murray at grand-slam level.
Should Novak finally claim the French Open he will definitely get the tennis world talking about the tantalising prospect of the ‘Calendar Grand-Slam’. History does suggests that holding all four ‘Majors’ is an almost impossible task in the men’s game. Given the mental strength of the Serb and his ability to always find that extra level of play when needed it is not unthinkable that he could emulate the feat of the great Rod Laver. The Australian legend was the last man to win all four Grand Slams back in 1969; many have tried and failed since then. Even the 17 time grand-slam champion Roger Federer, winner of all four grand-slams, could not do it in the same year.
Following the world number 1’s win in the Australian Open last month, the age-old question is sure to be at the forefront of tennis fans minds all over the world – will this be the year when one man finally wins all four Grand Slams? Given his determination, form and physical ability, Novak Djokovic is unquestionably the man to do it.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
