by Bob Stockton
@BobStockton10
The tennis world has long been about the dominating period of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and of course Novak Djokovic. The three of them have completely dominated over the last decade, with a limited number of Grand Slam’s going to any other player. Fifty-seven Grand Slams have been won between them, which puts all three clear of any other player in history. Each will go down as a legend of the sport but once they have all finished, who will be clear with the most Grand Slam titles? And is Djokovic destined to hold the record?
Both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal now stand on 20 Grand slam titles a piece and it looks simply a matter of time before Nadal takes the top spot, with his continued dominance in France. Federer has also not won a Grand slam since back in 2018, with his Australian Open victory and is coming to the end of his career at 39 years of age. The Swiss legend says he is now targeting Gold at the Olympics and was pleased that it was moved to 2021, due to him being ruled out for much of the 2020 tennis tour, due to knee surgery.
Nadal is still just 34 years of age and there is no doubt he will continue to add to his haul of Grand Slams, with 20 to date and incredibly 13 of these coming at the French Open. That includes winning for each of the last four years and there is now no doubting that he is the greatest player in the history of clay. His dominance on the surface does not appear likely to be stopping soon, so he is set for many more French Open titles and to further extend on his major titles.
Novak Djokovic is the youngest of the three at 33 years of age but is three behind with 17 Grand Slams to date. However, there is no doubting that he does appear destined for the Grand Slam titles record, as he continues to edge ever nearer to the other pair. Next up will be the Australian Open and Djokovic heads in as the strong favorite for the title and short odds on the best betting sites listed here. He is widely available at around even money, as he looks to win his ninth title and for the third year in succession, following his victories in both 2019 and 2020.
Djokovic has just one victory at the French Open, when successful back in 2016. With the dominating era of Nadal, this is unlikely to be a Grand Slam that he sees much success in within the near future. Djokovic also has three victories at the US Open, with his most recent one coming back in 2018. He is likely to start as the favorite in 2021 and this could be another one, he looks to add to his record. Djokovic appeared to be heading for another title this year but was ejected from the tournament, which meant he was the first player to be defaulted from a Grand Slam since Stefan Koubek, 20 years ago. It also ended the unbeaten run of Djokovic in his 2020 season, which was difficult to take.
Wimbledon has long been the marquee event in the tennis calendar, and it is one of great success for Djokovic. He will without a doubt start as the short-priced favorite for the victory in 2021 and will be entering as the two-time defending champion, following his victories in both 2018 and 2019, before the event of course being cancelled this year, due to the pandemic. Djokovic also now has five Wimbledon titles in his career, with his first coming back in 2011 and he will be expected to pick up many more, based on his form at the competition in recent seasons.
There is no doubting that in recent season’s Djokovic has been the leading player on the tour. He continues to reach the later stages of every Grand slam tournament and picking up victories in many of these. If he can have another successful 2021, then he could claw back the deficit further and he does appear destined to finish his career on top.
