Novak Djokovic This Sunday he extended his legend by conquering the US Open, his twenty-fourth Grand Slam title. With this she tied one of the most legendary records not only in tennis, but also in the world of sports: the twenty-four majors conquered by Margaret Court in her career.
The Serbian has broken records of all colors, but he warned after the final against Daniil Medvedev that he is still hungry to find new goals. These are some that will serve as motivation in the coming times. Because, at the age of 36, Djokovic is not thinking of stopping and even his coach Goran Ivanisevic has declared that he has time left.
1. TIE LEADERS IN GRAND SLAM SINGLE TITLES. OBJECTIVE: TO EFFECT A TIE OF MARGARET COURT’S 24 TITLES
This is the most obvious: having the equivalent of the Court’s record of twenty-four titles, the next goal is to keep it alone. Djokovic has surpassed Rafa Nadal’s twenty-two titles and Roger Federer’s twenty in men’s majors and tied the all-time individual record. Curiously, Djokovic also holds the record in men’s doubles (18 by Mike Bryan) and in mixed doubles (21 by Margaret Court). Martina Navratilova’s 31 in women’s doubles is ahead of Djokovic’s numbers in reference to both modalities, but they seem like numbers from another world.
2. TIE LEADERS IN MASTERS CUP TITLES. GOAL: EFFECT A TIE AT ROGER FEDERER’S 6
No one has more titles than Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals after the Serb lifted the trophy in 2022 to tie Roger Federer’s record six titles. Djokovic is back with success after seven seasons and his challenge now is to be alone at the top. Of course, their qualification to play in the tournament in 2023 was forged several weeks ago.
3. SOLO LEADER IN MASTERS 1000 TITLES. GOAL: REACH 40 TROPHIES
It is one of the most accessible. In fact, it is not a record in itself that he has not conquered, because Novak Djokovic is the sole leader in Masters 1000 titles. With what he added a few days ago in Cincinnati against Carlos Alcaraz, it reached 39 that ‘Nole’ wound up in this category, with a margin over Rafa Nadal (36) and Roger Federer (28). Therefore, 40 is within reach, although it is true that the Serbian has focused more on Grand Slams than tournaments at this level for some time. Of course, in another it will reach an unimaginable figure.
4. ONLY TENNIS PLAYER IN HISTORY TO COMPLETE THE MASTERS 1000 SERIES (DUE DOUBLE MATCH). GOAL: TRIPLE IT
If it is crazy to win all the Masters 1000 at least once (no one but him has done it), Djokovic has in his career the titles of Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Canada, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris at least twice in each area. After winning his third title in Cincinnati a few days ago, a third victory in Monte Carlo would allow him to complete the series in his career for the third time.
5. RULES THE SEASONS AND THE WEEKS WITH THE NUMBER ONE. GOAL: 400 WEEKS IN FRONT OF THE RANKING
It stuck to him. Novak Djokovic began his 390th week at the top of the ATP rankings on Monday and is guaranteed to add 396, so the impossible number of 400 is very impressive. It has long held both the record for weeks at number 1 and the record for seasons ending there. At seven, a historic solo record, no one threatens him at the moment. In fact, in terms of number 1, the only record that seems unattainable for Djokovic is Roger Federer’s 237 consecutive weeks at the top of the ranking. Nole’s top is the 122 he achieved between 2014 and 2016, also behind the personal records of Jimmy Connors (160) and Ivan Lendl (157).
6. LEADER IN AUSTRALIAN OPEN TITLES. GOALS: ALSO TOP THE LISTS AT WIMBLEDON AND THE US OPEN
Novak Djokovic is the tennis player with the most Australian Open men’s singles titles with ten. Carlos Alcaraz stopped him from equaling Roger Federer’s record of eight at Wimbledon (he had seven) and his fourth US Open trophy put him one behind the record five held by Federer, Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors. Topping the lists of titles with those two ‘big men’ could be motivation for Djokovic. At Roland Garros, however, it seems impossible for anyone to dream of Rafa Nadal’s fourteen titles.
7. LEADER IN THE GRAND SLAM FINALS. GOAL: 40 FINALS
Djokovic added his thirty-sixth Grand Slam final at the US Open to extend his lead in this statistic over Roger Federer (31) and Rafa Nadal (30). So, as the outstanding leader of this statistic, the question is whether the Serbian can reach the immediate round figure that is in his path: some forty finals which is so far far but to him it seems not far from impossible. .
Meanwhile, the following are lists not headed by Djokovic and that will also serve as motivation.
8. THE ANNUAL GRAND SLAM CHALLENGE
With each passing year it seems more difficult, but the truth is Djokovic has been thinking about it for a long time. Don Budge (1938), Maureen Connolly (1953), Rod Laver (1962 and 1969), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (who also won Olympic gold in 1988 to sign the annual Golden Slam) continue to compete as the only capable of completing the annual Grand Slam. Djokovic is one win away from achieving it in 2021, after Daniil Medvedev missed him in the US Open finals. He was unable to contest it in 2023, but he is one win away from achieving it after losing in the Wimbledon final with Carlos Alcaraz. Time has passed but Djokovic continues to flirt with one of the great dreams of any tennis player. 2024 is also an Olympic year.
9. THE GOLDEN SLAM CHALLENGE IN THE RACE
As such, Novak Djokovic will have in Paris next year one of the few pending tournament-level challenges that remain in his career. Multiple winner of four Grand Slams, ATP Finals, nine Masters 1000 and winner of Davis Cup in 2010, the Olympic gold, which he has sought so much but without success in the past, is one of his great challenges. Goran Ivanisevic himself, his coach, recognized this after the US Open final and even ventured the possibility of Djokovic reaching Los Angeles 2028. Of course, it seems that his best chance is Paris 2024 in the land of Roland Garros. Only Andre Agassi, Rafa Nadal and Steffi Graf, who achieved it annually in 1988, have completed the Golden Slam in their careers.
10. ADDITIONAL ATP TITLES. OBJECTIVES: 100, 103 AND 109
The victory at the US Open marked the 96th title for Novak Djokovic at the individual ATP level throughout his career. He has five trophies this year and with them he is already eyeing one of those magical hurdles that only the greatest can dream of in the world of tennis: 100 ATP titles. It looks like the Serbian may rest on the Asian tour, so this is a pending figure for next season. If he reaches it, his next challenges could be Roger Federer’s 103 titles and Jimmy Connors’ record of 109, one of the most difficult on the tennis planet, but will also help Djokovic to continue in search of more success.
11. MORE ATP TITLES ON HARD COURT. GOAL: ROGER FEDERER’S 71
Djokovic is one of the most versatile tennis players in history on the surface level, which means that his titles are widely distributed among them and he appears in the top 10 for most titles on clay (19 ) and in grass (8). However, the dominance on these surfaces by Rafa Nadal (63) and Roger Federer (19) respectively leaves these records beyond the reach of almost any mortal. Of course, it is within the Serbian’s reach to win the most trophies on his best surface, the hard court.
The US Open feat was the 69th tournament won for him on clay, just two shy of Federer’s record of 71. In terms of environment, Djokovic has 79 outdoors, eleven behind of Rafa Nadal’s 90, another complicated but not impossible goal. As for the indoor court (Djokovic has 17), which is increasingly included in the calendar, Jimmy Connors ’53 titles in it seems doomed to forever dominate the historical list.
12. MOST SUBSEQUENT SEASONS WON AT LEAST ONE ATP TITLE. GOAL: RAFA NADAL STICKS
It’s one of those records that Novak Djokovic doesn’t have but seems more doable for him. From the 2006 season to this 2023 season, Djokovic won at least one ATP title in every campaign (in fact, he won at least two). There are eighteen consecutive years celebrating a trophy, one of nineteen added by Rafa Nadal between 2004 and 2022. The Spaniard won’t win titles in 2023, so Djokovic could match his streak that feat if he wins an ATP title in 2024 and could surpass it if he wins another in 2025.
13. MORE ATP VICTORIES
With seven wins at the US Open, Djokovic has placed himself with 1,076 ATP victories and is third ahead of Rafa Nadal’s 1,068. The goal of climbing the positions seems very complicated, with Roger Federer second with 1251 and Jimmy Connors as the leader of this statistic with 1274.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
