Success decoded - Novak Djokovic's style
Yes, Novak Djokovic clinched another Wimbledon title yesterday, 4th in a row and 7th overall, and a total of 21 Grand Slam titles. The Lawn Tennis enthusiasts knows what it means to win Wimbledon title, and that too year after year and with so many bigwigs competing in the tournament. It's certainly a stupendous achievement for any lawn tennis player, and every player looks to win and bask in the glory of a Wimbledon title.
I remember an epic 2021 US Open Final between Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic, where Djokovic was vying to become the first man in 52 years to win all four majors - the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open - in the same year, also known as the calendar-year Grand Slam, and to overtake his arch rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, with whom he was tied at 20 major titles, and therefore, had lot at stake when he took to the court.
But, alas, history was on the side of Medvedev, as he played spoiler to Djokovic's dream run, and won his first ever career Grand Slam singles title, in dominant fashion with a straight set victory, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
After such a massive win, Medvedev, in his winning speech, paid rich tributes to Djokovic, and said some thing in his praise, which was difficult to fathom at that time. Medvedev said, " Djokovic, to me, is the greatest ever lawn tennis player in the history of this game, and he also went on to say that he hasn't ever used this statement for any other top ranking player". At that time, I thought, it was probably a loose statement.....only to comfort Djokovic, as how could he rank Djokovic ahead of Federer and Nadal, who are as good as any other top ranking player the game has ever produced.
Later on, I chanced to see some numbers on the Grand Slam titles these players had achieved over the years, and here they are:-
Federer won his 1st Grand Slam (GS) in 2003 (Wimbledon)
Nadal won his 1st Grand Slam in 2005 (French)
Djokovic won his 1st Grand Slam in 2008 (Australian)
Up till 2010, Federer has won 16 GS, Nadal won 8 GS, and Djokovic had 1 GS in his kitty. That means, as against a total of 24 GS shared between Federer and Nadal, Djokovic had just 1 title under his belt.
Djokovic, unfazed with the charismatic personalities and success achieved by that times great Federer and Nadal, held on to his self-belief, didn't allow himself to be overawed by their stature, kept working hard and kept improving on his game, while continuing to respect both these champions, and set himself on winning spree, gradually.
Djokovic finally announced his arrival on the big stage in 2011 when he went on to win 3 GS titles, Wimbledon, Australian and US, repeated same feat in 2015, and once more in 2021 in a calendar year.
In nut shell, between 2010 and 2022, Federer moved up from 16 to 20, Nadal from 8 to 22, and Djokovic from 1 to 21. These numbers might look skewed in favour of Djokovic, as for couple of years, Federer and Nadal stayed away from the circuit on account of injuries and didn't participate in Grand Slam events. But, none-the-less, that doesn't take away credit due to Djokovic for the rapid strides he made in these 12 years, with two of the best and profound champion players still around.
With the aforesaid statistics, I can now feel greatness of Djokovic, and I am sure that readers shall also see the truth in the Medvedev's statement.
Federer's game is ballet-in-symphony (W 2003, 2008 to name few), Nadal's game is like an artist at work (W 2008, 2011, AO 2022 to name the few) in all his ruthlessness, if he sees danger at any point of time, and Djokovic's game is sheer merciless brutality, all guns firing, and with tremendous ability to bounce back from the dumps (W SF 2022 against Sinner, and again F 2022 against Krygios to name the latest few games).
The conclusion, to me, therefore, is that if you have a CLEAR GOAL ahead, SELF-BELIEF, FOCUSED attention, HARD WORK, and RESILIENCE above all, to bounce back in the face of adversity, you shall own this world. SUCCESS shall be yours.
To name one virtue, SELF-BELIEF is the final word. All other traits thereafter follow your commands.