Estimating the significance of Novak Djokovic’s 2019 Wimbledon Title

The dust is yet to settle on the epic men’s singles final at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. But it’s time to look back and evaluate the significance of this title run by the world number one – Novak Djokovic.

There was a lot - apart from a grand slam title of course - at stake in this final. A Federer victory would have taken his grand slam tally to twenty-one, three adrift of Rafael Nadal and six ahead of Djokovic. That would have made the job of both Nadal and Djokovic much more difficult in their pursuit of the Federer tally.

But a Djokovic victory has ensured that the race for the greatest number of grand slam singles titles on the men’s side is very much alive and kicking. It has, as a matter of fact, become much closer. Nadal is still within touching distance of Federer, needing just two more titles to equal the Swiss.

Djokovic is not far behind either. The youngest of the big three, he is now just two behind Nadal’s tally and four behind Federer, who is six years older than him. Age is on his side, and on current form, it is not beyond him to make further strides within the next year or so. The chase is truly on - not just for the grand slam tally, but also for the most number of weeks as world number one.

Right now, with all three in good form and retirement not in sight, it is futile to carry on the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) debate. That debate should happen only when all of them have bid adieu to the ATP tour as players. But it is perhaps safe to predict that the outcome of this Wimbledon final may have a large bearing on that future anointing of GO.A.T.

This victory has significantly enhanced Djokovic’s reputation and has helped further cement his position as one of the greatest ever. Will he, the least popular of the big three, eventually go on to be become the greatest ever? Only time will tell.