Djokovic Has 'Chance To Separate Himself From Nadal & Federer' Says Connors
ATP
Novak Djokovic sits at 23 grand slams with a very good chance to go for more or at least separate himself from Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer according to Jimmy Connors.
Jimmy Connors knows a thing or two about winning and tennis. The American still holds the record for most trophies in the Open Era with 109. Djokovic has plenty of those as well but not as many Connors. What he does have over Connors is 23 grand slams with the most recent one coming at Roland Garros not too long ago.
For some, it cemented him as the greatest of all time at that moment but Djokovic remained true to his nature dismissing the tag once more. He did the same thing after winning the Australian Open as he simply tries to build upon that legacy. A legacy like that doesn't happen overnight it takes time and effort because as cliche as it sounds, you truly need to learn how to win.
That experience that Djokovic has, you know he’s been on the winning and losing side of Grand Slam finals, going in there and understanding what it takes.
Casper Ruud is enduring those hardships right now as the Norwegian is no 0-3 in grand slam finals but all of those will matter one day when he does lift one. Djokovic was there as well. It took him a few tries to finally fail forward and get one. It shapes you mentally, something that's at the heart of Djokovic's success. He's endured several things, all that strengthened him mentally foremost.
One other point about him is that time when he had off, that he wasn’t able to play. What was that like knowing that he was going out and practicing and having to put that kind of effort in mentally, not to get discouraged. And to continue to train and to work at his game and keep it at that high level, not knowing when he was going to play again. A lot of that enters into the mental part of it.
According to Connors, Djokovic is in a prime position to separate himself from Nadal and Federer. He looks fit, ready to play a few more years with a chance to go for 25+ grand slams. Connors even mentioned 30 which doesn't seem unlikely either.
"So now he had, and he still does, the chance to separate himself from Federer and Nadal. He’s at 23, what’s it going to be? 30? 30 Grand Slams? I mean, if he plays another, how many more years can he play? He’s 36 so could he play another 3-4 years and what can he get out of that?" Connors said.
