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Novak Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev in the 2021 Australian Open final on Sunday to win his 18th Grand Slam title. The Serb is now strikingly close to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer (who have 20 Majors each) in the all-time Slam leaderboard.
While Djokovic achieved several incredible feats during his fortnight in Melbourne, a fair few landmarks still await him in 2021.
Over the last few years, Novak Djokovic has repeatedly suggested that he is a true-blue records' man. His arch-rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have a similar hunger for success, have been more diplomatic while talking about records with the media. Djokovic, however, has had no qualms about admitting that he is single-mindedly chasing the numbers.
The Big 3 have been staging a Godzilla vs Kong vs Mechagodzilla style battle to decide the undisputed greatest, but Novak Djokovic seems to be the one in pole to come out on top. On that note, here's a look at four historic feats Djokovic could achieve in 2021:
(Note: It has already been confirmed that on 8 March 2021 Novak Djokovic will break Roger Federer's record of most weeks as World No. 1. That record, therefore, has not been included in this list).
1. Novak Djokovic could join Roger Federer as the only players to reach 10 semifinals at 3 different Slams
Novak Djokovic has consistently reached the later rounds of virtually every Slam he has played. This year, Djokovic became the first player in the Open Era to have reached at least nine semifinals at each of the four Grand Slams.
Roger Federer is second-best in that regard, having reached at least eight semifinals at every Major tournament.
Novak Djokovic has also reached 28 Grand Slam finals in his career, out of the 63 such tournaments he has played. In other words, Djokovic has not only reached the business end of the big events regularly, but has also mastered those stages as well.
Having reached 10 semifinals at Roland Garros and 11 at the US Open, Novak Djokovic will need to win his first five matches at Wimbledon this year to register his 10th semifinal at the All-England Club. If he does do that, the Serb will become only the second man in the Open Era after Roger Federer to reach 10 semifinals at three different Slams.
(Federer has reached 10 semifinals at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open).
2. Novak Djokovic could become the first player in history to win every 'big title' twice
While Novak Djokovic is one of the winningest players at the Slams, he is arguably even better when it comes to the Masters 1000 events. In 2018, Djokovic became the first and only player in history to complete the "Career Golden Masters" i.e. winning each of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments.
With his 18th Grand Slam victory on Sunday, the Serb has also gained a seemingly unassailable lead over his Big 3 rivals in 'big titles' won. The ATP defines the Grand Slams, the Masters 1000 events, the year-ending ATP Finals and the Olympics singles gold medal as 'big titles'.
While Novak Djokovic stands first in the list with 59 big titles, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have won 54 and 56 such titles respectively.
During his media conference on Sunday, Djokovic remarked that he was now more motivated than ever to win big trophies. It will take a formidable effort to stop the Serb from raking in the big tournaments this year.
After achieving the Career Grand Slam in 2016, Novak Djokovic has continued to transcend what it means to be versatile. Last year, the Serb won the Western & Southern Open for the second time in his career, to achieve the 'Double Career Golden Masters'.
If Djokovic manages to go all the way at this year's French Open, he could become the first player in history to win every big title at least twice.
3. Novak Djokovic could overtake Rafael Nadal for best career match winning rate
While Novak Djokovic has been a force to reckon with at the Slams, he has possibly been even more dominant in other tournaments. In 2011, Djokovic became the first player in tennis history to have won five ATP Masters 1000 titles in a year. The Serb even went on a 41-match unbeaten streak at the start of that season.
Novak Djokovic went on to better his 2011 season in 2015, as he compiled an 82-6 record across all matches. The milestones were starting to pile up for the Serb at the beginning of 2016, but his surge was halted for a couple of years due to an elbow injury coupled with lack of motivation.
Determined to restore the dominance he had established in the earlier years, Novak Djokovic was back to his absolute best in terms of match-winning rate last year. The 33-year-old accumulated a 41-5 win-loss record in 2020, even going 26 matches unbeaten at one point.
Over the course of his entire career, Novak Djokoivc has won 83.08% (943-192) of his official matches on the ATP tour. That puts him just behind Rafael Nadal's all-time highest winning rate of 83.1% (137-74), but Djokovic could take over the top spot if the Spaniard doesn't have a good showing in Rotterdam.
Although the World No. 1 will be absent from the tour for a few weeks due to his abdominal injury, he will be likely surpass Nadal in match-winning percentage at some point this year.
4. Novak Djokovic could break the record for most Grand Slams ever won by a male player
Novak Djokovic first evoked the possibility of him breaking the record for most Grand Slams back in 2016, when he held all the four Majors simultaneously. But the Serb went into an unmistakable slump over the next two years, and even fell out of the top 20.
Needless to say, it took a lot of mental strength from Djokovic to stage a career resurgence and start fighting for the big titles again.
It was at Wimbledon 2018 where Novak Djokovic finally ended his Slam drought, and he has only gone from strength to strength since then. On Sunday, Djokovic won his sixth Grand Slam title after turning 30, tying Nadal for most Grand Slams won by a male player in their 30s.
The victory also means that Djokovic has won three titles in his 30s at a single Slam (Australian Open); only Nadal has done better, with four titles at Roland Garros since 2017.
Even though Novak Djokovic is no longer in the prime of his career, he has continued to pump his claim of being the GOAT.
Among the bucketload of special records awaiting Novak Djokovic, the record for most Grand Slams won by a male player is easily the biggest one. As things currently stand, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are at the top with 20 Grand Slams each, while the Serb is right on their tail with 18.
There are three Slams left in 2021, which means Djokovic can theoretically overtake Federer and Nadal this year itself. That said, Djokovic has never won all four Slams in a single year, so this feat might be a little too difficult even for him.
The Serb will undoubtedly be the favorite at Wimbledon and the US Open, while Rafael Nadal will be the top contender at Roland Garros. But if somehow Nadal falls early in Paris, then Djokovic could well be in line for a truly earth-shattering 2021.
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