Making Tennis History

If you read my last column titled “Traditions” you know that I was hoping that we were going to have a Wimbledon Gentleman’s singles final of epic and historical proportions between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Unfortunately, Federer lost in straight sets in the quarter final round to Matteo Berrettini, a competent and qualified opponent who went on to take a set off of Djokovic in the Gentleman’s Championship match.

Federer will turn 40 in August and while he is still competing at the top of the sport, the challenges and opportunities of winning Grand Slams becomes ever more fleeting after the age of 35.

Federer was 36 years, five months, and seven days old when he claimed his last Grand Slam title at the 2018 Australian Open by beating Marin Cilic.

No player, male or female, has ever won a Grand Slam, aka a Major, in their forties.

Serena Williams is the oldest female tennis player to have won a Slam. She achieved the feat at the Australian Open in 2017 when she defeated her sister, Venus Williams, in the finals to win her 23rd Grand Slam title. She was 35 years and 125 days old at that time.

Back in 1972, Ken Rosewall became the oldest player ever, man or woman, Grand Slam champion, (a fact which still holds true to this day), by defeating Malcolm Anderson to win the Australian Open. Ken was 37 years, two months and one day old when he won the title.

With all of that said, both Federer and Serena could retire today and would forever be in the history books as one of the greatest players in the sport.

This now brings us to Novak Djokovic and his opportunity to put himself in the ranks of a handful of epic and historical players.

Djokovic is now tied with Federer and Nadal at a record 20 Grand Slam titles. Djokovic at 34, is absolutely playing at the top of his game. So far in 2021 he has won The Australian Open, The French Open and Wimbledon. So, the next question is, can Djokovic pull off a calendar Grand Slam?

A calendar Grand Slam is winning all four Grand Slams in consecutive order in the same year.

If Djokovic can win The U. S. Open, he will not only have accomplished a calendar Grand Slam, but a record breaking 21st career slams as well!

Let’s consider how rare of a feat this is to accomplish. Only five players in tennis history have achieved winning a calendar slam and nobody has done it since Steffi Graf in 1988.

Here is a list of those five historically impressive players and the years in which they accomplished this remarkable achievement.

Don Budge - 1938

Maureen Connolly - 1953

Rod Laver – 1962 and 1969

Margaret Court - 1970

Steffi Graf - 1988

While all five of these champions deserve their special recognition in the pages of tennis history, in my personal opinion, the one that stands above the rest is Rod Laver.

Laver is the only player, male, or female, to twice achieve a calendar Grand Slam in singles, in 1962 as an amateur and in 1969 as a professional, and the latter remains the only time a man has done so in the Open Era.

Laver also won eight Pro Slam titles, including the "Pro Grand Slam" in 1967, and he contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during an age when the Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the four majors. Laver won a record 200 tournaments and held the Number One World Ranking from 1964-70.

The simple fact is, he was that good!

One can only speculate as to how many total slams and calendar slams Laver may have won had he stayed an amateur between 1962 and 1969?

So, can Djokovic pull off a calendar slam?

I think that will depend on Federer and Nadal’s placement in the draw at the U S Open. If they both do play the Open, (which if healthy, I believe they will), then Djokovic will (most likely), have to get past one or both of them to win.

These three players have dominated the Grand Slam men’s singles titles for the last 15 years and even though all three are now at or beyond the fleeting age of 35, I believe the epic and historic opportunity to break the 3-way tie of 20 Grand Slam titles each, will make them the odds-on favorites to take the title.

The U S Open begins August 30. Coverage of this year’s Open will be on ESPN and can also be streamed through a variety of sources.

Wayne Clark is a professional tennis instructor with over 25 years’ experience coaching players on all levels of the game. Wayne is also qualified in pickleball instruction and is on staff as an instructor with The Naples Pickleball Center and Training Academy at East Naples Community Park. Contact Coach Wayne by email at coachwayneclark@aol.com, or by or by phone or text at 239-450-6161