By Our Special Correspondent
Novak to Novak to Grand Slam title number 21. It's been quite a journey for Novak Djokovic since being ridiculed for not taking the Covid-19 vaccine, being kicked out of the Australian Open and losing in the French Open quarters. Rarely can humans take these setbacks in their stride like Djokovic.
Never a favorite of the Serb at Wimbledon, led by Roger Federer, the Serb has become some sort of de facto contender on grass over the past decade. Certainly, Federer is a modern grass great and his eight majors at SW19 are proof of that. But since 2011, the 35-year-old has surfaced. Since then he has won the title seven times. It's a fair reflection of how he's developed his overall game to suit all surfaces.
In his first six Wimbledons, he reached the second week twice. Since then, he has finished second on all but one occasion. It is a perfect marriage between hard work, discipline to achieve something special and strong mental toughness.
Sunday's title is also significant as he finally overtakes Federer on his way to the top of the men's Slam leader board. When Djokovic won his first Slam in Australia in 2008, Federer had 12 runs. Since then, the Serbian master has slowly turned him around. Now that he's over him, he won't stop there. His other greatest rival in sight, Rafael Nadal, has 22.
Considering that Djokovic is the youngest and fittest of the three, it will take some time for him to equal the Spaniard in the reckoning. But it's also hard to ignore the elephant in the room—Serb's vaccination status. He will not be allowed to play the next two Slams.
Making a bold prediction is fraught with risk, as Djokovic is well-versed in missed matches. But he's healthy and with no worthy contenders in sight, he's likely to settle the GOATs debate.
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