Despite the fact that Novak Djokovic seems destined to break all the great records of the Grand Slams, there is one that right now seems a long way off. Those are already big words. It is no secret to anyone that the Serbian tennis player has made the Australian Open his favorite terrain and a place where it is practically impossible to beat him.
There is no more difficult challenge in ‘white sport’ than beating ‘Nole’ at Melbourne Park. Even so, the Serbian is far from a record set by the Spaniard Rafael Nadal on the clay of Roland Garros. Nadal holds the record for the most matches won in a single Grand Slam, with 112 in Paris.
The second and third records are also not held by Djokovic. This is the Swiss Roger Federer with 105 matches successfully resolved at Wimbledon and 102 at the Australian Open. Those are, for the moment, the only three records that exist for the same player with at least 100 victories in the same Grand Slam.
Further behind come the 98 wins that Jimmy Connors recorded at the US Open, and Novak Djokovic is only fifth with his 89 wins in Australia, the same as Federer at the US Open. To dream of reaching 100 victories in Melbourne, the Serbian should play at least two more editions and think about winning one and being a finalist in the other.
Nadal’s 112 victories seem like an impossible mission, especially considering that this figure could still be increased this year by the Spaniard.
Tumaini Carayol on Rafael Nadal
Tumaini Carayol believes that men’s tennis is going through a «strange period» at the moment as Djokovic and Rafael Nadal continue to dominate the field.
«It’s definitely a strange, strange period in men’s tennis right now. Djokovic continues to dominate like he did,» Carayol said. «Nadal’s main problem has been injuries, not the quality of the field. You know, catching up with them is the fact that he strained his abdominal muscle before the Wimbledon semi-finals and just hasn’t recovered.
On top of that, more stuff just keeps piling up,» he added. «Seriously, on one hand, I think Djokovic is that good. Yes. He is 35 years old. Yeah, he’s old or whatever. The same with Christmas. Yes they are old. But the level that he’s playing is still unbelievable and yet, you know, he’s still so good.
And, you know, despite everything, he’s a better tennis player than these guys. He would know, that’s for sure. He’s just much better,» Carayol said.
