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(Reuters) – Just over a month ago, when Novak Djokovic strutted into Arthur Ashe Stadium to play Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta in the fourth round of the US Open, smart money was on the Serbian one day topping the list of winners of men’s Grand Slam titles. .
With Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, the two men above him in the GOAT race (the best of all time), absent from New York, the door seemed ajar for Djokovic to really start breathing down their necks.
A month later, however, after being thrashed by a rampant Nadal in the French Open final, the Serbian remains with 17 Grand Slam titles, three behind the duo.
Sunday’s loss to a phenomenal Nadal won’t hurt as much as what happened in New York when Djokovic was defaulted after hitting a linesman in the throat with a downed ball in frustration.
He was a huge favorite to win a fourth US Open title and with doubts about Nadal’s form of closure after COVID-19, it wasn’t hard to imagine him tying the Spaniard in 19 Grand Slams at the French Open.
All of that is now irrelevant and the question is whether the 33-year-old has fallen too far behind.
While Federer’s prospects of increasing his loot are dwindling with each passing year, the 34-year-old Nadal, based on evidence from the past fortnight, looks as good as ever.
Nadal was optimistic when asked about the level of tie with Federer for the first time in his career.
“We keep playing. I don’t know what can happen in the future. I’m excited and of course it’s something that means a lot to me,” he told reporters.
“At the same time, sharing this record between us, who had an incredible rivalry for so long, is something in some way beautiful that I really believe.”
Despite a disappointing few weeks for Djokovic, he will not be willing to give up the chase. After all, in 2009 he only had one major to his name, while Nadal had six and Federer had 15.
Since then, he has been the most prolific collector of Grand Slam titles and the lingering feeling that he lacks the accumulated adulation about Nadal and Federer will feed his hunger to catch them.
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander believes that Djokovic, who could have surpassed Nadal and Federer by becoming the first man in the professional era to win each of the Grand Slams at least twice if he had won on Sunday , can do it.
But make Nadal the favorite.
“Today he tells us that Rafa Nadal probably has the best chance of becoming the best tennis player of all time,” the Swede told Eurosport.
“Of course it will hurt Djokovic’s confidence by not winning at the US Open and then this loss. But now he goes to train for the Australian Open, where he becomes a clear favorite, and he knows if he wins three majors next time. year, which we predict every year that he will, then he will get up at 20.
“Novak’s body and his game are more modern and I think he can stay longer. The question is whether he is as emotionally involved as he has been in the last two years. That is the question I would love to have answered in Australia.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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