One of the Greats?

Emerson (left) and Laver (right) are two legends of tennis.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker, Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Rod Laver... all these men are legends of the game of tennis. They will all be remembered for their greatness and success in major championships. Now a new name can be added to that list. Novak Djokovic's display at the Australian Open has surely convinced any doubters that he is one of the all time greats. The amazing thing is that Djokovic is still only 24 and has plenty more time to add to his five major championships. Yes he is still no where near Roger Federer and Pete Sampras' major haul, but time is on Djokovic's side. The scary thing at the moment is that the Serb is only getting better. In the open era, only eleven people have secured more grand slams than Novak Djokovic. This is quite a biased figure as Rod Laver won six majors before the open era began, and Ken Rosewall won four of his eight before the end of the amateur era. By not including the amateur era, legends such as Bill Tilden (10 time major winner), Fred Perry (8), and Roy Emerson (12) would not get a mention. In fact there are many more from the amateur era who have secured more than five grand slams. In fact, 26 people have won more than five major championships since records began. However, only seven men in history have secured more than eight majors. So if Djokovic wants true legendary status, he has a few more to win.

Two of the greatest, Federer and Sampras.

The truth is though that the amateur era is no longer really considered when talking in terms of modern legends. So Djokovic is in modern day terms, one of the top 15 players of all time if one was to talk in terms of major championships. The list of players in front of him though is a great one. By no means is Djokovic the best player of all time, he is not even close, but the reality is that he has the potential to be up there. Federer and Sampras are still regarded as the greatest of all time. No one has a record that can be compared to these two, Federer has sixteen major championships and Sampras has fourteen. So what gives people the right to mention Djokovic in the same sentence as the likes of Sampras, Federer, Nadal, Borg, and Lendl? Well Djokovic has the fourth highest earnings in terms of prize money of all time, the only people in front of him are Federer, Nadal and Sampras. In 2011 Djokovic became only the sixth player of all time to win three majors in a calendar year. On top of that, Djokovic's winning percentage certain puts himself up there with the greats. But what adds to Djokovic's cause is that he is setting records at a time when he is playing against two of the other best players of all time. Even though Djokovic has an overall losing record in head-to-heads to both Federer and Nadal, a different picture is painted in these records since 2009. Since Djokovic has developed into a great player his head-to-heads against both Nadal and Federer have significantly improved. In the last eleven meetings between Djokovic and Federer, Djokovic holds a 6-5 record, and in Djokovic's last eleven meetings with Nadal, Djokovic has won nine of them.

Djokovic won possibly the greatest ever final this year.

2011 also contributed to Djokovic's status as an all time great. Pete Sampras suggested that Djokovic's 2011 season was one of the greatest he had ever seen. Novak 'Nole' Djokovic won 43 games in a row at the start of the season as he claimed the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Djokovic also claimed a record five masters series 1000 titles in 2011 and finished the season as the undisputed world number one. Nole lost just six games all year. But 2012 already stands out as a significant step forward in Djokovic's short career. The year may only be a month old, but Djokovic's victory at the Australian Open will have cast fear into the hearts and minds of his closest rivals. The Serb's supreme performances throughout the tournament were a pleasure and a marvel to watch. If there was always one chink in the Djokovic armour, it was that he didn't have the mental or physical toughness in tight long games. The 2012 Australian Open disproved the theory. From the jaws of defeat Djokovic beat Murray over five sets in a semi final lasting nearly five hours. Two days later, Djokovic faced a well rested Nadal in the final. Even though Djokovic had won their previous five meetings, it seemed that fatigue would play a big factor in the match. This seemed even more so after Nadal took the first set in a gruelling one hour and twenty minutes. Yet two magnificent sets of tennis later, and Nole was a set away from his third Aussie Open. But then, as Nadal does, the Spaniard fought with all his might to take the fourth set on a tie-break sending the game into a deciding set. Before the final set had even begun, the game was the longest final in Australian Open history. Surely Djokovic had nothing left in the tank. Nadal took the early break in the fifth leaving Djokovic seemingly down and out. The old Djokovic certainly would have crumbled at this point, but not this determined machine. Djokovic clawed his way back into the match with a break in the seventh game before getting another break in the eleventh game. After facing a break point on his own serve, Djokovic served out for his greatest victory yet in a match that lasted five hours and fifty three minutes.

Djokovic has had the upper hand in recent meetings with Nadal 

However, if Djokovic wants to truly be considered one of the greats, he certainly has to add to his five grand slam titles, there is no question in that. But there is also something else Djokovic needs, the French Open. Victory at Rolland Garros still eludes the Serb, but this won't be an easy title to win. Djokovic has proved supreme on hard courts and grass, but Nadal stands in Djokovic's way as he is the joint most successful player at the French Open in the modern era. The Spaniard along with Bjorn Borg has won six titles, and only Federer has stopped Nadal from winning in Paris since 2005. Only three men in the modern era have won the career grand slam. Andre Agassi was the first to complete it with Federer and Nadal following this century. Winning the French Open will certainly set apart Djokovic from a lot of the other greats, not even pistol Pete Sampras could win the career grand slam.

So Djokovic still has a way to go to be the best player ever, but if he continues to play the way he has, it won't be long until he is right up there. The French Open is the next hurdle for Djokovic to overcome but Nole now has the awe factor that was Federer's a few seasons ago. Federer and Nadal will always be there to try to prevent the Serbian from achieving greatness, along with a resurgent Andy Murray, which means Djokovic has a tough ride in store. But Djokovic's new found attitude, physical and mental strength puts him in a potentially untouchable position. There is no question that tennis is experiencing one of its greatest ever eras.