The Aviator Roland Garros He was one of many fighter pilots in World War I to defend France. Consequently, his work was so important to that country that one of the four most important tennis tournaments It bears his name in his honor. “In the storm is when you meet the good pilot,” he said at the time to describe his task. And, in that sense, it is a phrase that is perfectly suited to Novak Djokovic. A tightrope walker who remained in limbo, but managed to get out of his meeting in front of Stefanos Tsitsipas and that allowed him to become champion of the second Grand Slam of the season. From 0-2 in sets down to 3-2 nonstop. A true champion who is called to continue making history.
Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Aces, Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Demeter, and Hestia. They were the 12 Olympian gods who dwelt on Mount Olympus, the highest peak in Greece at 2,918 meters high. Well, it is possible to incorporate one more regardless of their nationality: Novak Djokovic. The Serbian does not stop gathering attributes to become the best of all: he added his 19th Grand Slam title (18 in the last decade) and 84 in total, he became the only one to win – at least – twice in each of those four great competitions, he discounted an advantage that sounded impossible with about Roger Federer already Rafael Nadal, accumulates 325 weeks at the top of the ranking (and continues to count), lifted five ATP Finals, prevailed in all the Masters 1000 (he was also crowned in each of the nine on two occasions), and scored two triumphs in Bois de Boulogne against the Spanish, who is considered the King of clay.
The forehand is good, his backhand is incredible, the service is very responsive and with the volley he does not usually have problems. However, his greatest virtue is his mentality. A warrior’s head and someone who knew how to grow up in a warlike context in the middle of the conflict in the Balkans for the separation of Yugoslavia. And that takes him to the track. Cold mind and warm heart. An infallible combination in critical moments, where he (almost) always has an ace up his sleeve to escape adversity. “I feel that the mental work, the mental training, is as important as the physical training,” he commented after his victory against Tsitsipas.
The Nole thing is superlative from the aspect in which it is analyzed. Perhaps, he is the least ‘charismatic’ or the least ‘loved’ by fans of the sport when it comes to contenders for the GOAT. In fact, his legacy may not end up as great as the other two members of the Big3. However, the numbers are the numbers. So much so that they are one of the few objective valid tools to evaluate and compare the performance of the three. And it still seems that it has a long way to go since it is still fully in force. Is it time to start considering it the best ever? Arguments are not lacking.
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