US Open tennis 2021 - Novak Djokovic reveals 'Mount Everest' moment as he closes on calendar Grand Slam
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Published 05/09/2021 at 08:54 GMT
Novak Djokovic is only four wins away from matching Rod Laver and creating another slice of tennis history. After defeating Kei Nishikori at the US Open, the Serb revealed why the French Open was such an important victory in his pursuit of the incredible feat which could mark his 2021 campaign as one of the greatest in tennis history.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates his win against Japan's Kei Nishikori during their 2021 US Open Tennis tournament men's singles third round match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York
Image credit: Getty Images
Novak Djokovic said winning the French Open this year was like scaling Mount Everest, giving him the belief that he could achieve a remarkable calendar Grand Slam.
Djokovic is now only four matches away from achieving a feat which has not been seen in men’s tennis since Rod Laver won all four Grand Slams in 1969, after he defeated Kei Nishikori in four sets to reach the fourth round of the US Open.
Nishikori took the first set to threaten Djokovic’s shot at history but the 20-time Grand Slam winner fought back in style to continue his progress at Flushing Meadows, where he will next face young American Jenson Brooksby.
Djokovic previously held all Grand Slam titles simultaneously when triumphing at the French Open in 2016 but his victory at Roland Garros this year was the moment when he truly believed he could sweep all four in one calendar year, he revealed after beating Nishikori.
“After I won in Paris this year, I felt like, 'OK, I like my chances on grass, I won two Wimbledons in a row, I've improved over the years on grass’ - it did not seem impossible anymore to go for all four in a row in the same year," he said. “So here I am. I'm in a good position to do that. Still in the tournament. But I've got to take one match at a time.
“Probably the greatest Grand Slam career satisfaction I had is when I won four in a row back in 2016 when I crowned it with the first Roland Garros trophy.
"Even though I grew up playing on clay, I feel like Roland Garros has always been probably the Mount Everest for me. Out of all four Slams, that was the toughest for me to win.
“Both 2016 and this year's win on French Open feel kind of similar. I felt if I win Roland Garros in that year, I have a good chance to maybe do it all in same year, calendar Slam."
On his victory over Nishikori, Djokovic said he was unhappy with the way he started the match.
“I don’t think I started off very well. I was quite passive,” he admitted. “I was too far back in the court. He was dictating the play. I was still trying to find the rhythm, find the tempo.
“Obviously he played much quicker and more aggressive than my opponents in the opening rounds did, so it took me a little bit of time to adjust to his game.
“I was very pleased with the focus. Maybe at some points I wasn’t at my best, but overall I was determined, I was concentrated and that’s what matters in the end.”
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