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 For the second time in his career, Wimbledon, U.S. Open and
Australian Open champion Djokovic will arrive at Roland Garros
needing seven victories to become the first man in almost 50 years
to hold all four grand slam titles at the same time.
It is a feat that is so difficult that it has not been achieved by a
man since Australian Rod Laver won the second of his calendar Grand
Slams in 1969.
Djokovic's effort to join an exclusive club which boasts only two
male members -- Don Budge and Laver -- was thwarted in 2012 by Rafa
Nadal in the Paris final.
With nine-times French Open champion Nadal no longer the force he
was, Djokovic will arrive in Paris as the overwhelming favorite to
lift to the Musketeers' Cup for the first time at his 12th attempt.
Djokovic, beaten in three Paris finals over the last four years, may
never get such a golden opportunity to complete a feat that was
tantalisingly just out of reach for tennis greats such as Pete
Sampras, Roger Federer and Nadal.
The biggest obstacle standing in his way may be his own mental
belief.
Djokovic may have contested five consecutive grand slam finals, he
may have won a record-equalling sixth Australian Open title and he
may be ranked number one in the world -- but for all his confidence,
he knows that he has had 11 failed attempts to win the ultimate
prize in claycourt tennis.
Despite becoming only the second man to beat Nadal at Roland Garros,
Djokovic still walked away without the trophy last year as his win
over the Spaniard was achieved in the quarter-finals.
By the time he got to the final, he had run out of ideas and was
powerless to stop Stan Wawrinka from running away with the spoils.
"(I'm) very hungry (for Paris)," Djokovic said after beating Andy
Murray in the Melbourne Park final on Sunday to win his 11th grand
slam title.
"Even though I won last four out of five grand slams, I don't take
anything for granted.
"I want to improve as everybody else. I'm not here because I played
the same tennis I played last year. I feel like I'm playing better."
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UNDER SPELL
Murray, Federer and Nadal will certainly agree with that assessment
as they all fell under his spell in the opening month of the 2016
season.
After humiliating Federer in the opening two sets of his 6-1 6-2 3-6
6-3 semi-final victory in Melbourne, Djokovic said it was "probably
the best two sets I've played against Roger over my career". That's
saying something for a decade-long rivalry that spans 45 matches.
Djokovic now has a better head-to-head against all three of his "Big
Four" rivals. He leads Federer 23-22, Nadal 24-23 and Murray 22-9.
While Federer (17 majors), Nadal (14), Sampras (14) and Australian
Roy Emerson (12) still top Djokovic in the list of all-time grand
slam title holders, it is not inconceivable that within a few years,
the Serb will have left everyone in his wake.
But at the French Open, Djokovic will have to deal with the pressure
of completing his collection of grand slam titles.
Should he match Laver's feat of winning four slams in a row, the
28-year-old will have to find some new superlatives to describe his
form.
"No doubt that I'm playing the best tennis of my life in the last 15
months. It's phenomenal," said Djokovic.
"I always strive to improve not just the game or technically,
tactically, but also mentally. I don't want to think how far my
boundaries are."
(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar Editing by Alison Williams)
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