Will Djokovic surpass Rafa and Roger?

Novak Djokovic is the new leader of this golden era of tennis. Ever since he crushed Federer’s dream at SW19 this year, experts have tagged him as a modern great, a legend who has more glorious chapters ahead. There’s absolutely no doubt about the history Djokovic is creating, every time he steps on court.

He’s having one of the greatest seasons ever witnessed – next to Laver’s 1969 and Federer’s 2006- and if he goes on to be the last man standing at New York, he might as well get the better of Federer.

With a 48-3 Win Loss record, the Serb has completely dominated the year. Furthermore  had it not been a ‘Stanimal Show’ in Paris, Novak would’ve entered the USO targeting the ‘Calendar Slam’. But that’s not what the tennis world is talking about! It’s a more bigger picture, something that can tremble the Fedal fans around the world and force the pundits to doubt their predictions.

Will Novak Djokovic surpass Nadal and Federer in the Grand Slam tally?

At 28, Novak now has 9 GS to his name (5 of them in Melbourne, 1 in NYC and 3 at Wimbledon). Interestingly, at the same age, Nadal clinched his 14th while Federer had 15 to his name.

Rafa has struggled for over a year now, and has hardly looked a dominant force on any surface not called clay. Federer, who’s in the twilight of his career has won only 1 out of the last 22 slams. Up until 2010, nobody bothered about thinking that Djokovic would even end up in double digits, but the Serb has muscled his way to tennis glory, claiming 3 slams in 2011 and since then has added 5 more to his collection.

But those are really not the numbers you need to surpass Nadal or Federer. Out of the last 14, Novak has managed to win only 4. You cannot expect him to double his tally of slams after he has turned 28. Even history says he can’t. Agassi added 4 more after turning 28, Federer has managed only two and even Sampras didn’t do any wonders after touching this age.

Expecting Novak to go past Federer would be a long shot. He may inch closer to Nadal and end up somewhere around 14 or maybe even 15, if he stays fit.

The things that go in the Serb’s favor is the lack of competition. Nadal, less than a year older than Djokovic, seems to have lost his place among contenders and is only a viable threat on clay right now. Murray has suffered 10 straight losses on Hard Courts in the last three seasons at the hands of Djokovic. While Federer, turning 34 in August – with a bit of luck- may only add one more to his tally.

Federer faced a much severe test from his younger opponents, Nadal started to deny the great Swiss- beating him in 6 GS finals- and Djokovic also notched up some crucial wins against Federer in semifinals of slams. Novak has a much easier pack of – Nishikori, Raonic, Dimitrov to name a few- youngsters to deal with. It’s only Murray and Wawrinka who might challenge the Serb in coming Grand Slams. Nadal needs to recover some lost ground in order to add to his collection. He may be well past his peak too.

It was a similar scenario when Nadal was running away with silverware, up untill 2010, then adding up one each year at Paris. People thought he’d eclipse Federer, even Federer thought the same. But that scenario looks a faded one at the moment. He was outplayed by Novak in finals, 3 in a row at one stage. After having a miraculous 2011 Djokovic lost his hold, losing thrice to Rafa at Paris, twice to Murray in the finals and now his new trouble Wawrinka, shattered his career Slam hopes for another year. You’d still bet Nadal to cross Federer rather than Djokovic and the former scenario itself looks unlikely.

However, one thing’s for sure – We are witnessing the greatest era the game has ever seen – With Federer, Nadal and Novak, contesting for tennis supremacy, the question about who should be termed the greatest of all time hovers around.

For the time being it’s Federer>Nadal>Djokovic. Only a ‘SuperNole’ effort can change this order in the coming days. Although, it’s too premature to say anything. A world wide poll (about who’s the greatest) would’ve been a really good idea, only if we didn’t know the result ( Federer wins overwhelmingly).

Maybe we can come back in, say 2020, to revisit all the records, history, matches and legacy that these three would leave once they no longer get their racquets stringed!