Novak Djokovic, affectionately called the “Djoker,” is back on top. Courtesy of Tennis TV.
By Gabriel Gomez, Art Director
Novak Djokovic has won the first Grand Slam of the 2023 season, the Australian Open in Melbourne. Just a year ago, he was barred from playing at the tournament after being deported from the country due to not being vaccinated. On whether or not he plans to become vaccinated, Djokovic stated that he does not want to nor does he plan on getting vaccinated.
“I was never against vaccination,” he told BBC News. “But I’ve always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body.”
His closest competitor and longtime rival, Rafael Nadal, pulled out of the Aussie Open due to a left hip injury. Djokovic cruised to the final with relative ease as there were initial reports of him having a wrist injury, which he denied. It was revealed just this week that he was suffering from a three-centimeter tear in his hamstring throughout his run in the tournament. This didn’t seem to bother him at all as he ended up beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final in straight sets (6-3, 7-6, 7-6).
The 24-year-old Tsitsipas looked as though he could not keep up with the 35-year-old, who looked to be in the best shape of his life. Now reaching a career-high of 22 Grand Slams, tying with his closest rival Nadal who also has 22 after winning his 14th French Open Tournament last year, Djokovic now levels the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all Time) debate without question. The new question that tennis fans raise is who will end their career with more slams?
Last year, Djokovic only played one Grand Slam due to him being excluded from the other three (Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows) because of his vaccination status. This put him behind in the slam tally and gave Nadal the edge last year in having 22 over Novak’s 20 before he earned his 7th Wimbledon title in July.
With Djokovic not being excluded from any more tournaments this year, the tennis community and many analysts theorize that Djokovic could be headed to a career Calendar Slam in 2023. What is a Calendar Grand Slam? This is the almost impossible feat of winning all four slams in the same year.
This has only been done by Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) for the men and for the women’s side, Maureen Connolly Brinker (1953), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988). The fact that only five players have achieved this feat in a set of tournaments originating over 100 years ago speaks volumes to the degree of difficulty involved with obtaining this feat.
In the past. Not even Roger Federer nor Rafa Nadal have achieved this record and both are regarded with Djokovic as the greatest players to ever step on a tennis court. If Djokovic manages to surpass Nadal, it will forever solidify him as the greatest tennis player ever. While I am not Djokovic’s biggest fan by any means, I cannot overlook how wildly talented he is. I have always loved Nadal as I am also a Spaniard. Nadal will always be regarded as the “King of Clay”. He respectfully holds 14 Grand Slam titles on the surface.
Djokovic has the chance to make his tally of Grand Slams to 25 in total at the end of the year. If Nadal does not defend his Roland Garros (French Open) title, I think that there is no stopping Djokovic from achieving the calendar slam. Considering how his vaccination status has affected his chances last year at gaining even more titles than he currently has, the conversation on whether or not he could have had more will always linger.
