Djokovic sets his sights on surpassing Federer’s slam record

[oldmanfan]

Watch out Roger, he's comin' fer ya!!!

Lol, that's a very apt gif actually, bc Fed must've been fed up with how often he's had to hear this. First, it was Nadl beating him at WB08. Then, it was Nadl piling on slams in 2010. Then the rise of Ultron in 2011. Then, it was Nadl ver. 2013. That has been going on for ~11 years now.

Fedr_shutup.gif

 

[brystone]

Funny thing was, I was jokingly thinking that of Fedr after AO18 when the tour was still in shambles and Fedr was dominating his biggest matchup disadvantage in Nadl AND the tour. Look how that turned out?
Of course, not many will learn judging by recent threads like this one.

Well considering Federer was unlikely to even play RG, and had not made a decent showing there in forever when he did, that was probably massively far fetched even as a joke. Your point is taken though.

 

[Krish0608]

It's not going to be easy. Definitely not impossible. But I'd say he'll end up with 18.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Amazing that you picked up on Rafa's injury and predicted Djok was going to expose it. Rafa had not dropped a set and everybody was saying that he was recovered and this match was really being touted as another epic match like their classic 5 hour+ 2012 meeting.

Now I feel silly staying up for this one. LOL.

I guess these things happen.

 

[Cortana]

Both Nadal and Djokovic will come very close to 20 slams in 2020. Possibly 18-19 titles for both.

 

[-NN-]

It would be fitting if it finished:

Roger 21
Rafa 20
Novak 19

Nah it would be fitting if it finished:

Djokovic 22
Federer 20
Rafa 17

And after all this time it's revealed that the best of the era was Djokovic all along.

(The reality is that this won't happen.. 7 more Slams for Djokovic and 0 for Rafa? Imagine that!)

 

[joekapa]

Nah it would be fitting if it finished:

Djokovic 22
Federer 20
Rafa 17

And after all this time it's revealed that the best of the era was Djokovic all along.

(The reality is that this won't happen.. 7 more Slams for Djokovic and 0 for Rafa? Imagine that!)

The question is not whether Djokovic can do it, physically. By all accounts he probably can. The question is whether he can do it mentally.
Djokovic is motivated directly by the opponents he has on the other side of the net. Give him Rafa, Fed, and Andy, and he see's red. He will beat them to a pulp, or die trying.

Nadal was always Novak's "Northern Star" in terms of motivation. He has now proven that he has his number. No doubt. He has proven he is the BETTER all-round player.

Nadal, the way I see it, is entering the twilight of his career. If he does not win this year's RG, I think it will be downhill after that. If that is the case, what will Djokovic stick around for ? To beat Tsitsipas and Zverev ? Maybe, but I don;t think he really cares about those matchups. To beat Federer's GS tally ? Maybe, but I don;t think he really cares about it deep down. He knows he is the best of his generation, and thats what matters.

He is driven by opponents. Nadal, in his own way, created Djokovic. When Nadal is no longer a force, will Djokovic find the drive to compete ? We shall see.

 

[joekapa]

That being said. It was sad seeing Nadal's post match handshake, and interview. Never ever have I seen him so awkward. He was naked out there.

 

[icedevil0289]

where is a strong wawrinka when you need him?

who knows what will happen, I'm over here hoping fed gets 1 more Wimbledon. its honestly not an impossible goal for novak, he may very well do it. not a goal i'm looking forward to ofcourse should it be achieved since people already think half fed's slams don't even count.

 

[icedevil0289]

I think Federer is playing clay to keep his ranking high, so he continues to get high seedings. After losing AO, he doesn't have any slam wins to give him enough points so he can afford to skip clay. I think he will play a bare minimum, give RG a shot, skip Stuttgart and play Halle for practice so he can come ready for W.

yeah also it didn't even register that if he doesn't get some points quick, he is not qualifying for the wtf. can't remember when he last didn't qualify. if I'm not mistaken he is either 25/26 in the race

 

[icedevil0289]

It would be hilarious though if Fed ended up as the third greatest of all time

are we assuming that rafa surpasses fed in slam count as well?

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Let's put this into perspective for Djoker:

5 slams behind (has just won the last three and other that RG seems like only injury can stop him) - difficult? yes, impossible? no
If Djoker holds the # 1 ranking until Wimby next year he will overtake the weeks at # 1 record
If he wins YE # 1 this year he moves past Fed onto 6 YE # 1
If he wins the WTF this year he equals Fed on 6
He already dominates in terms of M1000 v Fed 32 - 27 and you would imagine that he will add significantly to that this year

So given the closeness of all of the most important stats and the fact that he leads the H2H. It might be a case of close enough is good enough for Djoker in the slam race to put a huge stake in the ground in terms of GOAThood.

 

[Noleberic123]

are we assuming that rafa surpasses fed in slam count as well?

Yes