Is Djokovic on his way to becoming the greatest tennis player of all time?

Tennis has always been great to watch, but arguably this era of men’s tennis, which includes the likes of Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic, has been the best of all time. Debates have always raged on about the best tennis player ever, be it the great Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Borg and Agassi or active players like Federer and Nadal. However, a new name is doing the rounds these days – Novak Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic has been simply astounding since 2011. With a series of superlative performances, Djokovic has taken the tennis world by storm. The champion of the just concluded Australian Open, Nole is slowly but surely sealing his place in the pantheon of greats in the tennis world.

His form was so great in 2011 that the whole season came be known as the ‘Novak Djokovic Tennis Season’. The 2011 Novak Djokovic Tennis season is widely regarded as one of the greatest seasons ever in men’s tennis. After having won the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, Djokovic went on an incredible streak of 43 matches unbeaten. He won all the Grand Slams except the French Open where he was beaten by a classy Federer. Also winning a record 5 masters titles, Djokovic became the number 1 ranked tennis player for the first time on July 4th.

After another solid year in 2012 where he won the Australian open again, Djokovic looks like a player who has hit his peak. With already 6 Grand Slam titles under his belt, the Djoker seems hungry for more. He has reached this high level mainly due to his supreme fitness and killer groundstrokes. Chasing down all balls, even lost causes, Djokovic has very often erased the word ‘impossible’ from our minds. Also, Nole is comfortable playing on all surfaces and he is one of the select few to beat Nadal on clay and Federer on grass.

Still only 25 years, Djokovic is only reaching his prime now. After giving us another stunning performance at the Australian Open in 2013, he looks set for another fantastic season. More than anything, his mental fortitude has increased tremendously. Previously, he himself lacked the belief that he could be the best and defeat the awesome duo of Nadal and Federer. However, every time he steps on the court now, the belief, determination and most importantly the confidence in his own abilities is present. He has also learnt to grind out results when everything is not going his way. Djokovic arguably is the most complete player currently playing.

Yet, Djokovic has a long way to go if he wants to be known as the greatest player of all time. Time is a great leveller in this game and only Federer seems to have passed the test of time. That number of 17 Grand Slams is still far away and with injuries always possible at any moment (just ask Nadal), the Djoker has to tread cautiously. With Federer still competitive and Murray looking good as well, Djokovic has his work cut out this season. Also, with Nadal itching to return and silence all his doubters, Djokovic has to be wary of the threats to his number 1 spot. Despite all that, the initial signs have been very encouraging for the Djokovic camp. Who knows, this year might be an even better year than 2011 for Djokovic! If that happens, we can safely say that Djokovic would have taken a huge step forward on his path to greatness.