Super Serb hopes to end G.O.A.T. debate
Victory in New York will push Djokovic clear of rivals Federer, Nadal in all-time Major race
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NEW YORK • Novak Djokovic has chased down all manner of records on his way to becoming one of the greatest tennis players ever but he has never been on a tennis treasure hunt quite like this.
Win the US Open, which begins on Monday in New York, and he will break his tie with his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and take sole ownership of the record for men's Grand Slam singles titles with 21.
Win the US Open, and he will also complete the Grand Slam by winning all four Majors in the same calendar year.
No man has done it in singles since Rod Laver in 1969, including Djokovic's career-long litmus tests of Federer and Nadal and no player has done it in singles since Germany's Steffi Graf swept the four Slams in 1988, rarely losing a set along the way, and then topping it off by winning the Olympic gold medal in Seoul.
That was called the Golden Slam, and Djokovic missed his chance at shining when he lost to eventual gold medallist Alexander Zverev at the Tokyo Olympics.
He has not competed since leaving Japan but arrived early in New York from Europe to recover from the jet lag and prepare himself to pursue what could be the highlight of his career.
After the US Open draw on Thursday, the top-seeded Serb now has a clearer idea of what awaits him, but hardly full clarity.
The world No. 1 will face a qualifier in round one - the qualifiers are ongoing - and would then face Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany or Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the second round.
Djokovic is unlikely to be troubled until the quarter-finals, where he could face a Wimbledon final rematch with Matteo Berrettini and possibly Zverev in the last four.
Top form will presumably be required to derail the Serb in New York. Neither Federer, Nadal and Dominic Thiem, the reigning US Open men's singles champion, will be present due to injuries.
Djokovic, who has won three US Open titles (2011, 2015, 2018), is a man on a mission and he has proved through the years that he can handle the pressure that goes with daunting assignments.
But history argues against the 34-year-old having a cakewalk to the Grand Slam. The most recent player to come close - Serena Williams - was shocked in the semi-finals of the 2015 US Open by Roberta Vinci.
"Serena was two matches away from the Grand Slam, and you never would have thought she would lose to Vinci, but that's the greatness of the challenge," said Brad Gilbert, a former top-five player who is now a coach and ESPN analyst.
Even with the withdrawals of Serena and her older sister Venus, the women's draw is brimming with Major singles champions.
There are 13 in all, including the top-seeded Ashleigh Barty and world No. 3 Naomi Osaka, the defending US Open champion who is in the same half of the draw as former winners Sloane Stephens and Angelique Kerber.
Osaka could meet second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals while Barty might have a Wimbledon final rematch with Karolina Pliskova in the last four.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NYTIMES
