Djokovic: His goal is to try, win all four grand slams in the calendar year — Cash
Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash says Novak Djokovic will never have a better opportunity to achieve a historic calendar Grand Slam.
The Serbian won a sixth Wimbledon crown on Sunday, defeating Matteo Berrettini in four sets to achieve a final victory that moved him on to 20 grand slam titles.
Cash thinks the stars have aligned for Djokovic, with issues for his main rivals leaving the 34-year-old primed to achieve the famous feat in 2021.
“The impossible dream really is there,” Cash said to Stats Perform.
“For Novak this year it is a great opportunity for him to grab a bunch of grand slams and grab all the titles.
“Certainly Wimbledon – without disrespecting the other players – was one of the weaker men’s side draws that I’ve seen in many, many years.
“And that’s because we’ve got two of the big stars coming back from injuries – Andy Murray and Roger Federer – who played well but weren’t at the peak of their career.
“The younger players are coming through but they’re not quite there yet and Novak is just sitting on top of that mountain as the King of the Castle.
“His performance was exceptional at Wimbledon, there’s no doubts about it.
“The slightly younger players are coming through – Berrettini obviously in the final really pushed him to just about the limit.
“Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open final up two sets to love. So, these guys are close, very close, and it won’t be long before they catch up with Novak and the others.
“Obviously Rafa [Nadal] was out of this Wimbledon as well – I don’t really think he’s a serious threat on the grass anymore but he’s still a great competitor.
“So these guys are catching up, Rafa is still there, maybe Murray will come back and Federer will come back and be in better shape in the next year – but this is the year that Novak can really grab.”
Federer withdrew earlier from the tournament and Cash insists Tokyo will not be the priority over glory in New York for Djokovic.
Cash added: “It’s the Olympics, okay – maybe he wants to do that, but certainly his goal is now to try and win all four grand slams in the calendar year.
“He has done four in a row, but he hasn’t done them in the same year, which is very, very tough to do.
“There is a reason why I think one person has done it in [men’s] professional tennis – Rod Laver and it was in 1969, so it’s not easy to do.
“But I really do think it’s in his sights and that has got to be his priority.
“It’s absolutely the absolute peak of our sport to win all four grand slams in one year.”
With Djokovic now level with Federer and Nadal on 20 majors, Cash would not be surprised to see him build a big lead.
He added: “Look, it’s very hard to say. We have all been proven wrong by the numbers.
“Though most of us thought that Rafa and Novak would get pretty close to Federer, we didn’t really think they’d get there and beyond.
“I think Novak is likely to win another couple, but you know, it takes us one little injury [to derail him] so it is very hard to say.
“John McEnroe said 25 or so [for Djokovic] and that could be well within his reach at the moment.
“He’s improving and that’s frightening to think. He’s won 19 grand slams before Wimbledon, and all of a sudden we’ve seen this guy come to the net, volley, add another string to his bow to become a better player.
“Yeah, age 34 and he is improving – that’s pretty frightening.”
Tokyo Olympics: Djokovic confirms plans to continue Golden Slam bid in Japan
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has confirmed he will enter the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The world number one is just two titles away from a first men’s Golden Slam.
Rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, citing respective scheduling and injury issues, have each withdrawn from Tokyo 2020.
But Djokovic confirmed on Thursday he will travel to Japan in pursuit of a groundbreaking achievement.
Only women’s tour legend Steffi Graf has previously won all four majors and the Olympics in the same year, doing so in 1988.
Doubles superstars Bob and Mike Bryan held all five titles at once but collected them across 2012 and 2013, while Andre Agassi and Nadal are the only two men’s singles players to achieve the feat across an entire career.
Djokovic has already triumphed at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon in 2021, leaving Tokyo and the US Open still to conquer.
The 20-time grand slam champion – a record he tied at the All England Club on Sunday – has entered the Games three times previously but earned only a single bronze medal. Andy Murray is the two-time defending champion.
At Flushing Meadows, Djokovic is a three-time winner.
The 34-year-old confirmed his Olympics plans in a social media post as he sent a message to a young Japanese fan celebrating his sixth birthday.
“Cannot disappoint my little friend Koujirou,” Djokovic wrote. “I booked my flight for Tokyo and will proudly be joining #TeamSerbia for the Olympics.”
He had said following his Wimbledon win last week: “My plan was always to go to Olympic Games, but right now I’m a little bit divided.”
Djokovic added limitations on his travelling party and potentially being unable to watch fellow athletes had reduced the likelihood of an appearance to “50-50”.
But he will now feature, even if former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash believes the calendar Grand Slam – winning the four majors but not the Olympics – has to be the Serbian’s priority.
Cash told Stats Perform: “It’s the Olympics, okay – maybe he wants to do that, but certainly his goal is now to try and win all four grand slams in the calendar year.
“He has done four in a row, but he hasn’t done them in the same year, which is very, very tough to do.
“There is a reason why I think one person has done it in [men’s] professional tennis – Rod Laver and it was in 1969, so it’s not easy to do.
“But I really do think it’s in his sights and that has got to be his priority.
“It’s absolutely the absolute peak of our sport to win all four grand slams in one year.”
