Novak Djokovic Earned Another Year at Number 1, But Can He Catch Federer With Titles?

Novak Djokovic has earned the top ranking in men's sports for four of the last five calendar years, which places him among the very elites in the men's field of tennis, historically. He has surpassed some all-time greats of the game, including big names like Nadal, Agassi, and Borg, while matching others, such as Lendl and McEnroe. In the process, he achieved the even more impressive, to say nothing of rare, feat of owning the top ranking every week of this calendar year, an achievement only matched by Connors, Lendl, Sampras, Hewitt, and Federer before him. With 169 weeks atop the rankings and counting, Djokovic now places sixth on the all-time list of most weeks ranked number one, behind only Sampras, Federer, Connors, Lendl, and McEnroe.

Yes, his list of accomplishments are growing, as are his lists of titles. And no real evidence that he is about to slow down, or that all of this success is about to come crashing down.

So now, having enjoyed one of the most dominant calendar years in history, becoming only the third man in tennis history to have qualified for the finals of all four Grand Slam events in a calendar year, and having won three of those, Djokovic appears poised to continue that success well into 2016 and beyond. That means that he has now earned his place in the conversation about best ever, but that also means that people are wondering if he does indeed have a chance at matching, or perhaps even surpassing, the Grand Slam title numbers of Roger Federer, who won a record 17 Grand Slam titles in his illustrious career.

Not long ago, people were wondering that same thing about Nadal, although this calendar year has been a disaster for the world's former number one, and winner of fourteen Grand Slam titles in all.

It is a question that can only be answered in time, although I think whether or not he manages to achieve the feat, he still needs to find a way to get over the hump and win the French Open once and for all, to hold the trophy at Centre Court in Rolland Garros. He has been to the final three times before, but lost each time, including last year, when he lost a devastating final match to Stanislas Wawrinka. It would seem likely that Djokovic, who has shown a remarkable ability to bounce back after some devastating defeats and setbacks in his career, should be able to get back to the French Open Men's Final again, but this time, he needs to win. If he manages that feat, then he will undeniably have earned his spot among the very elites in the history of the game.

In the meantime, he has shown that he now knows not only how to reach the number one ranking, but also how to stay there. That should not change anytime soon. At this point, Djokovic is so ahead of everyone else, that it might just be himself as his only major obstacle.

That, and perhaps time.


Novak Djokovic: The Unloved Champion by David Shaftel, September 7, 2015:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/11/fashion/mens-style/novak-djokovic-how-to-be-a-champion.html?WT.mc_id=2015-OCTOBER-OUTBRAIN-FASHION_ADRISK-1001-1031&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=AUDDEVRISK&_r=0

Does Djokovic have enough time to catch Federer? 3d - TENNIS NOVAK DJOKOVIC +3 more Sandra Harwitt, October 18, 2015:

http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/13900658/tennis-novak-djokovic-pursuit-roger-federer