In becoming the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously and only the third man in tennis history to do so, Novak Djokovic has already scaled impossible h
In becoming the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously and only the third man in tennis history to do so, Novak Djokovic has already scaled impossible heights. Marked already as one of the all-time greats of the game, the Serbian, who plays a brand of all-court tennis with strong baseline aggression, is favourite to win the most number of Grand Slam titles ever. The significance of Djokovic’s 12th Grand Slam title, which represents another peak in his first French Open title, is he has achieved all this in the era of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, two others with a strong claim to be among the top 10 players of all time.
The Serbian polyglot is fluent in at least four European languages and apparently super-efficient on the three different surfaces on which the four Grand Slams are played — clay, grass and hard court. Famous tennis coach Nick Bollettieri believes Djokovic is “the most complete player ever and the most perfect player of all time”. The fear is the Serb might have everything in his favour considering the ease with which he beat the player ranked closest to him — Andy Murray — after being down a set, and the fact that Federer and Nadal are in the late autumn of their careers.
No Grand Slam goes by without an Indian shining in the doubles. Leander Paes also completed a career Grand Slam in winning the mixed doubles title with “Swiss Miss” Martina Hingis. The evergreen Leander (18 Grand Slam wins) demonstrated once again that age is just a number as he kicks on at 42, surprising everyone with mental and physical agility.
