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Novak Djokovic’s claim as the greatest men’s tennis player ever will be undeniable should he beat Casper Ruud in Sunday’s Roland-Garros final.
That’s the opinion of former Australian ace Wally Masur as Djokovic eyes a record 23rd grand slam title that would move him ahead of Rafael Nadal on the all-time list.
Djokovic, 36, is starting to express his own mortality and self doubt as the effects of a long and arduous career inevitably begin to wear on his warrior body.
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But while Nadal is still an active player, the 37-year-old is fighting a more advanced battle with Father Time after undergoing arthroscopic surgery for his left hip flexor.
The retired Roger Federer is third on the grand slam count with 20.
“Is he the best ever in my mind? Yeah, I just look at the numbers, there’s no style points in tennis. I just look at the numbers, head to head,” Masur told Nine’s Weekend Today.
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“He’s got a winning record against Nadal. He’s got a winning record against Federer. Against Nadal, it’s 30-29. Rafa leads though, 11-7, in slam tennis. So best of five sets is the true test of men’s tennis. But if he nudges ahead to 23, he’s the greatest of all time.”
Djokovic pursued Nadal and Federer for quite some time.
They were the guys he measured himself against, the players who established the standards he sought to surpass.
Entering the 2011 season, Federer owned 16 major championships, Nadal nine and Djokovic one.
Just five years ago, Federer was at 20, Nadal 17 and Djokovic at 12.
Since then? Djokovic has collected 10 of the last 19 slam titles and made clear his intention to keep adding to his total.
“It seems impossible,” Masur told Stan Sport’s Grand Slam Daily.
“You know, when I was emerging on the tour, Bjorn Borg was doing incredible things at the French Open and Wimbledon and I’m thinking this will never be repeated.
“These guys have just blown away every benchmark in the sport and maybe Novak’s going to take it one step further. (At) 36 years of age, the oldest man in 93 years to make it through to the championship match at Roland-Garros. So when you’re playing against Novak Djokovic, you’re not just playing against a guy who can hit a pretty good ball. You’re playing against the aura of one of the all time greats.”
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The only players in tennis history to exceed those numbers are Serena Williams, whose 23 titles are the most in the open era, and Australia’s Margaret Court, whose 24 came in part during the amateur era.
Using every bit of his superiority in experience and fitness, Djokovic beat a cramping Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 to reach his 34th major final.
Ruud, 24, breezed past Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 to book his third grand slam decider.
The Norwegian is 0-2 after last year losing to Nadal at Roland-Garros and Alcaraz at the US Open.
Ruud has never beaten Djokovic and no-one is really giving him a chance in Paris.
They have played four times previously, twice on hard courts and twice on clay, and not only is Djokovic 4-0, but he has won all eight sets.
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“Casper has just got to be Casper – he’s very calm and a great mover,” Masur said.
“I think there’s a trap in trying to overplay when you take on Novak. He just has to settle in for the duration and almost hope that the weight of history weighs heavily on Novak’s shoulders and maybe Novak doesn’t play his absolute best…
“Remember Serena Williams, when she was chasing Margaret Court’s grand slam record and she had to play Roberta Vinci in the semi-finals to play Flavia Pennetta in the final (of the 2015 US Open).
“On paper you’re thinking this is it. But she couldn’t find her game and I’m watching it thinking the weight of history is on her shoulders and she’s not handling it particularly well and she lost to Vinci… but I think Novak is a slightly different cat.”
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