“It's my motivating factor”: 23, 25, 30 Grand Slams… How far can Novak Djokovic go?

“I really don't want to stop there…” Barely out of the Rod Laver Arena clad in a 10th Australian Open and especially a 22nd Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic quickly announced the color.

The world No. 1, 35, does not simply want to mark the history of tennis and fate in general.

He wants to crush it.

“I want to win as many Grand Slam titles as possible,” he explains.

At the point where I am, these trophies are the main motivating factor.

I know that when I feel good physically and mentally, I can win any Grand Slam tournament, against anyone.

»

All tennis fans are starting to bet on how many Majors the Serb will hold the day he puts away his racquets.

23, 25 or 30 for the most daring, place your bets!

By betting on 28, the Australian Nick Kyrgios is only half joking… Listening to Goran Ivanisevic, his coach, Djokovic still has two or three good years ahead of him.

Either in absolute terms (without taking into account his vaccination situation which could disrupt his next US Open), three opportunities this season and a dozen before hanging up.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer congratulate Novak Djokovic on his 22nd Grand Slam title.

❤👏 pic.twitter.com/mDO00frx1j

— Universe Tennis 🎾 (@UniversTennis) January 30, 2023

If he stays on his running board (he has won 32% of the 69 Grand Slams he has played), the Belgradois should therefore win five more!

For an astronomical total of 27. The hypothesis is not far-fetched, as the "Djoker" and his best enemy Rafael Nadal defy the laws of logic and constantly push the boundaries of reality.

Especially since unlike the Spaniard, a year his senior, the ten-time Melbourne winner seems to have more leeway with his body.

Even if he suffered from the left thigh in Australia, he martyred his main work tool much less than his Mallorcan friend and is subject to real discipline in terms of physical, mental, nutritional preparation, etc.

Djokovic leaves nothing to chance.

"But it depends on a lot of things and not just my body," he says.

It is very important that I have the support of my loved ones and that I can maintain a balance between tournaments and my family life.

And at the same time, I have to keep this hunger for trophies.

»

Who to beat him?

As he began to do so constrained and forced by his vaccination status (he only played ten tournaments and the Masters in 2022), the Serb will target his main objectives.

When you have already won all the Masters 1000 at least twice, one more or one less... On the court, and this was again evident in Melbourne, Djokovic has been able to adapt and modernize his game and has an impressive margin on the competition.

He has almost never looked so overbearing.

"He is the tallest who has ever held a tennis racket."

Stefanos Tsitsipas on Novak Djokovic pic.twitter.com/q3AKoDa3RQ

— We Are Tennis France (@WeAreTennisFR) January 30, 2023

For three years and ten Grand Slams (apart from his incredible disqualification in New York in 2020), only two players have beaten him.

The inevitable Nadal (twice in Paris) and Daniil Medvedev (in the final of the US Open 2021), losing ground in recent months.

Some come up against a glass ceiling (Tsitsipas, Zverev), others are not yet at their peak (Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune).

“When our childhood idols keep winning Grand Slams, we have to work even better than before,” Rune posted on social media.

The world No. 9 is the only player to have beaten Djokovic (in the Bercy final) in his last 38 matches on the circuit (since his defeat in the quarterfinals in Paris against Nadal).

The Belgrader therefore has a great opportunity to grow an already extraordinary nest egg.

Remains an unknown size named… Nadal.

The world specialist in resurrections, currently injured in the hip, will he be on the attack to win his 15th Roland-Garros in the spring and climb the counter first to 23?