Novak Djokovic winning the Golden Slam ‘would be surprising’ claims former No.2

Novak Djokovic winning the Golden Slam ‘would be surprising’ claims former No.2

Novak Djokovic is aiming for next year’s Golden Slam, but former world number two Alex Corretja believes there is too much competition to achieve this historic feat.

Although Djokovic has never reached the Golden Slam, he has made it clear how important Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympics are at this stage of his career.

In a calendar slam, a player wins all four majors in the same year. If he wins this tournament as well, he could win the Golden Slam in the year the Olympics are held.

Steffi Graf is the only player in history to accomplish this, winning all four Grand Slams and winning the gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Djokovic’s greatest Olympic achievement was the bronze medal he won in Beijing in 2008. That means Paris 2024 could be the 36-year-old Djokovic’s last chance to win gold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4wMzathWm0[/em​​bed]

Corretja did not say whether he believed Djokovic would win gold in the French capital, but hinted that the Spaniard thought a Golden Slam was unlikely.

“I think it’s a bit surprising [to win the Golden Slam] because even though his game has improved this much, he’s getting older,” Corretja told Eurosport .

“It’s normal for him to get older and his recovery not to be the same.” But at the same time, he has the necessary experience and is looking forward to important tournaments and making a difference in his performance. I only focus on tournaments that I believe in. He creates life. I’m sure he’ll continue to win Slams, but it’s getting harder and harder and he knows it. ”

The two-time Roland Garros finalist added: “And I think in a way, the game he lost against (Jannik) Sinner in the Davis Cup could be a good thing for him. It’s like, ‘Okay, I’m doing incredibly well, but behind me. I can’t relax for a second because some of the players are pushing me so hard.” It’s a wake-up call.” They are very dangerous and I know they are pushing me so I can win now. ”

Correča alluded to Djokovic’s recent loss to world No. 4 Jannik Sinner, the only player to beat the Serbian multiple times in 2023.

Sensazionale.

Jannik Sinner will be the first player to beat Novak Djokovic twice in the same season since Medvedev in 2019. (Singles) #DavisCupFinals | @federtennis pic.twitter.com/ kH9ztBbEBl

– Davis Cup (@DavisCup) 25. November 2023

However, Corretja still backed the 10-time champion as the “favorite” heading into the Australian Open. I think he’ll have one of the most exciting Australian Opens in years. Because we have some players who can perform very well and physically give their best.

“They’re growing and getting stronger, and mentally, it’s almost the first time that we have players who believe they can perform well in a top-five competition and maintain their level for a long period of time. ”

Novak Djokovic will start the 2024 season representing Serbia in the United Cup. His first match will be on December 31st when he will face China’s No. 1 Zhizhen Zhang.

IDEMO 🇷🇸#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/dfGgSvWz8W

– United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) 2. December 2023

He then heads to the first major tournament of the year in Melbourne, where he hopes to make history by winning his 25th Grand Slam singles title.

In the baseline…

At this stage of Novak Djokovic’s career, records are what he is after, something the Serb has made no secret of, and of course the Golden Slam is definitely his and his Team Djokovic will be close. He won three of the four majors in five years and reached the Calendar Slam in his career. However, achieving this in parallel with the Olympics will be a difficult task, especially for players like Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and arch-rival Rafael Nadal