For years Novak Djokovic has made his long-term goal clear: Focus on accumulating Grand Slam titles and surpassing the total of the greats Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Djokovic will finally have a chance to lead alone with a men’s record 23 championship when the French Open kicks off on Sunday without Nadal (due to injury) and Federer (retired) for the first time since 1998. If he ends up winning, he will break Nadal’s tie and have three more than Federer.
“It’s no secret that one of the big reasons I’m playing today is to break more records and keep making history,” Djokovic admitted on Saturday.
He currently has 22 major titles — two at Roland Garros, three at the US Open, seven at Wimbledon and 10 at the Australian Open — making it 16 more than the rest of the 127-man main draw combined. Stan Wawrinka has three and Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem one each.
“Grand Slams are a different tournament, you are playing the best tournaments in the world,” added the 36-year-old Djokovic. “And experience is on my side.”
It is for the same reason that when other players are asked who is the favorite in Nadal’s absence, they mention two names: Alcaraz, who is number one in the world and with a record of 20-2 and three clay titles in 2023, and Djokovic. .
Djokovic was contemplative on the eve of the tournament and explained that now everything is physically more difficult because of his age. But his most candid comments went to Nadal, a 14-time Paris champion who has been out since January through injury.
After making a joke in reference to Nadal’s 8-2 lead at Roland Garros against Nole — “Honestly, I don’t miss him in the key, you know” — he got serious.
He remembered how their paths are united and acknowledged that it affected him when Nadal announced that 2024 would possibly be his last year.
“He is my biggest rival. When he announced that it would be his last season, I felt like a part of me was leaving with him,” Djokovic admitted. “I think he has been one of the people who have impacted me the most in my career. He was a great motivator to keep playing and competing and keep pushing each other. Who is going to do more stuff? It made me wonder about my career and how much longer I am going to play.
He then paused and smiled before saying, “I’m not going to make any announcements today.”