By winning the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2022, Rafael Nadal has risen to 22 Grand Slams. The Spanish phenomenon has left everyone speechless, highlighting his eternal rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the Grand Slam ranking of all time.
The Swiss can no longer touch up his account, since he withdrew in September last year. Nole, for his part, paid dearly for his decision not to get vaccinated against the Coronavirus. The 35-year-old from Belgrade did not participate in the Australian Open or the 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 is just a length behind Nadal in the Majors all-time standings. The ‘Djoker’ will try the hook already at the 2023 Australian Open, where he goes on the hunt for his tenth seal.
Goran Ivanisevic’s protégé will debut on Tuesday against Carballes Baena of Spain. Speaking to the Tennis Channel, Martina Navratilova went into detail about the prospects of Nadal and Djokovic.
Navratilova opens up about Djokovic
«The odds are with Novak Djokovic,» Martina Navratilova told Tennis Channel in a recent interview.
«Most likely, he will win one, or two, maybe even three Majors this year. Rafa is a favorite at Roland Garros, but the rest of them, for me, Novak is the favorite at the other three Majors,» he declared. Navratilova. «So someone has to beat him and make him pay the price, but right now, the odds-on favorite in all three.» Tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes that Novak Djokovic is far from the best level ahead of him at the 2023 Australian Open.
«Novak has won a tournament again, simple as that. Sounds incredible, even more so when you consider that it was his 34th consecutive win in Australia since 2018. But he’s still far from his best.» He added: «Despite the incredible support from the crowd, his level of play is linked to a very emotional situation, his return to Australia after what happened last year.
How it will feel once in Melbourne, we’ll see.» Nole is ready: «I really wanted to go back and play tennis because ultimately that’s what I do best, what I always wanted to do, what I wanted to do last once a year
I’m really looking forward to playing in front of people and I hope to bring them some fun and good vibes.»
