The Djokovic Era: The Tennis World Before and After

For competitive athletes, few situations are more complex than grappling with the facts of being a superior candidate to win a race. Possibility becomes responsibility, “you have to win,” because athletes, by virtue of their victories and merits, have created the conditions for this weighting. Tennis legend Billie Jean King coined a unique phrase for these occasions: the venue where the U.S. Open is held is named after him. “Pressure is a privilege”. Taking advantage of this privilege is not easy, and it often becomes an unbearable burden on our shoulders.

but Novak Djokovic did it. again. At 36 years old, he has further amplified his legend. He is already the record holder for men’s Grand Slam titles and has gone one step further, reaching 24 titles. so, She tied Margaret Court’s record, which coincidentally was set by the Australian 50 years ago at the U.S. Open. In addition to already being the player with the most major titles in the Open era that began in 1968, it is now possible to start looking for the origins of another phase of modern tennis: the Djokovic era. Did it start when he took his first shot at age 4 with his first coach, Jelena Gencic? From the day he won his first ATP tournament? Or does it start 15 years ago when he was celebrating his first Grand Slam? Australia?

Court’s 24 Grand Pianos is one of those long-sought-after but difficult-to-achieve records. For example, Serena Williams failed to achieve this goal, reaching the age of 23 and losing several finals since then. Neither did Rafael Nadal (22) or Roger Federer (20). Djokovic continues to add numbers to maintain his status as the greatest tennis player in history, maintained at increasingly undisputed figures. Title No. 24 even allowed him to rehearse tributes to global sports icons like Kobe Bryant, the basketball star who was the victim of a plane crash and with whom he established a figure that only those who transcend the world of sports Friendships can be built. Who better to understand one phenomenon than another?

The 36-year-old Djokovic continues to make history. starting today, No. 1 in the world again, now at 390 weeks Get to the top of the leaderboard. He is already the oldest senior leader. A few months ago, he passed another seemingly out-of-reach legend, Steffi Graf (377 weeks), as the person with the most weeks. If he performs well in the remaining games, he can top the Tour for an eighth time, already surpassing Pete Sampras’ six times at the top of the calendar.

Djokovic wins US Open 96 titles. That’s a huge number, and it’s even more valuable when you consider that there are 24 in that number. Grand Slam, 39 Masters 1000 (Yes, he was the top winner in that category too) and 6 ATP Finals (the old Masters at the end of the year), the most important event on the tour. For example, he has won five championships this year, including the Australian, French and US Opens, the Cincinnati Masters 1000, and a small event in Adelaide in January to prepare for landing in Melbourne. Their record so far in 2023 is 45 wins and 5 losses, with an efficiency rate of 90%.and Won 25 of last 26 gamesThe only disappointment was losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.

His total official earnings from competition (not including sponsorships, guarantees or exhibitions) $175,281,484 USD. However, at this stage of his career, the goals are different. If he is aiming for that number, he still has Jimmy Connors’ 109 trophies and Federer’s 103 ahead of him, although he is known to have his sights set on competing at the highest level. He may also compete for gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He was already 37 years old at that time. But whether he wins or not, it doesn’t change the impression that tennis has illuminated a unique, unrepeatable cycle: before and after Djokovic. The day Noel ends an unforgettable era with the racket, nothing will ever be the same again.