By winning the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2022, Rafael Nadal has moved up to 22 Slams. The Spanish phenomenon has left everyone speechless, displacing his eternal rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the all-time ranking of the Slams.
The Swiss can no longer add more to his record, since he retired in September last year. Nole, for his part, has paid dearly for his decision not to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The 35-year-old Belgrade native had to miss the Australian Open and US Open last season, but managed to limit the damage by winning his seventh Wimbledon.
In addition to matching his idol Pete Sampras with seven wins at Church Road, the Serb moved a trophy or behind Nadal in the all-time major rankings. The Serb will put his game to the test already at the 2023 Australian Open, where he will seek his tenth title.
Goran Ivanisevic’s protégé will debut on Tuesday against the Spanish Carballes Baena. On the Tennis Channel microphones, Martina Navratilova discussed in detail the prospects for Nadal and Djokovic. «Novak Djokovic has the best chance to win more Slams in 2023.
The Serbian is the main favorite in three of the four Majors», analyzed Martina. «Rafael Nadal is the great favorite at Roland Garros, but in the other three Slams he has fewer chances than Nole. Maybe some young player can trip Djokovic, but this is the current situation,» Navratilova added.
In a recent interview, Gunter Bresnik made some interesting comments about Djokovic: «The 2022 season was undoubtedly conditioned by the repeated absences of Novak Djokovic, who had to skip two Slams and the entire American Masters 1000.»
Djokovic pays tribute to his parents
Novak Djokovic paid tribute to his parents Srdjan and Dijana after defeating Roberto Carballes Baena.
«My parents were here in 2008 when I won for the first time, I hope they bring me luck again,» Novak Djokovic said during his on-court interview. «Amazing atmosphere, thank you all so much for staying so late and also thank you for giving me a welcome and reception that I could only dream of.
I really feel very happy to be back in Australia and here on the court where I had the greatest success of my career,» said the Serb. «This court is definitely the most special court of my life. I’m not asking for a better start to the tournament, so thank you for your support, I appreciate it,» he added.
