Novak Djokovic recently created history by becoming the first men’s tennis player to win 23 Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros in Paris. Such has been the resurgence of the World No.1 in 2023 that many pundits and enthusiasts of the game are considering him as the overwhelming favourite to win the upcoming Wimbledon 2023 Championships as well. Djokovic is all set to defend his title at the All England Club, having defeated the mercurial Australia star, Nick Kyrgios in the Final last year.
Should the Serbian succeed in doing so, he would equal one of his biggest rivals and Swiss maestro, Roger Federer when it comes to winning 8 Wimbledon titles, which is the most for any men’s player at the Grand Slam so far. However, the comparisons between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at the Wimbledon Championships are set to get more fascinating.
How Novak Djokovic challenged Roger Federer’s might at Wimbledon
Over the years, Roger Federer has largely been crowned as the ‘King of Grass’ and deservedly so. Federer set the bar extremely high in London, having won 5 back-to-back Championships from 2003-2007. His other 3 wins came in 2009, 2012 and 2017 respectively.
However, as Federer began to struggle between his 2012 and 2017 wins, Wimbledon looked for a successor to the throne. And here’s where 2013 was a milestone year in the ‘shift of power’ on the grass surface. It was the first time Djokovic made it to a Wimbledon final, which was an achievement unlocked without a doubt. But having come so close, he ended up yet being far as he was defeated by the home favourite, Andy Murray. Little would one come to realise that it was the last time Novak Djokovic lost a match at the iconic Centre Court.
Mind-blowing but true:
Two weeks from today, it will be 10 years since Novak Djokovic last lost a match on Wimbledon Centre Court
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) June 23, 2023
Yes, you read that correctly! Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon stock soared from 2014 when he became the first player after another major rival of his, Rafael Nadal, to beat Roger Federer in a Final on Centre Court, in a thrilling 5-set clash. The Serbian superstar managed to repeat his feat in 2015 as well, as Federer once again came second to Djokovic at the biggest stage of them all.
Interestingly, Novak Djokovic never made it to the Centre Court for the 2 years that followed. USA’s Sam Querrey made a name for himself with a 3rd round win over the superstar on Court 1 in 2016. While in 2017, Djokovic withdrew ahead of his quarter-final match against Tomas Berdych and that gave Federer the perfect opportunity to regain his Wimbledon glory, making it his 19th Grand Slam win.
While Federer enjoyed a brief renaissance of sorts in 2017 and the start of 2018, it was his ‘Last Dance’ when it came to winning Grand Slams. Djokovic was hardly challenged at Wimbledon in 2018, having beaten South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in straight sets in the final. After that, there was no stopping the Serbian who seemed to have found a formula to succeed on grass as much as he could on hard and clay. He denied Federer a record 9th Wimbledon title in 2019 as the duo featured in the longest-ever Wimbledon Final.
Wimbledon 2023: Novak Djokovic’s attempt for a historic 5th consecutive title
It is remarkable that Novak Djokovic had only won 6 Grand Slam titles in total when he lost that 2013 final to Murray. But after winning the 2019 summit clash against Federer, he has won 6 titles solely at Wimbledon! On the other hand, in mid-2013, Federer was still at the top with 17 Grand Slam titles while Rafael Nadal had piled up 12 of them. Ironically, Djokovic has won 17 titles in the last decade since.
After that 2019 final, Djokovic has hardly been challenged at the Centre Court. No other player has had such dominance as even the great Roger Federer had succumbed to Rafael Nadal in the epic 2008 Final, ending his 5-year run.
As Djokovic completes 10 years of having never lost at the iconic venue, he now aims to equal another Federer record, i.e., winning the Wimbledon five in a row for the first time in his career. That would make his 8th title as well as his 24th Grand Slam win.
Well, the numbers seem to be aligning too for the World No.1. Interestingly, Federer recently commented about it being tough to pick Djokovic as the greatest of all-time in the sport. That debate might come to a quick end if Djokovic manages to pull off another Wimbledon title win this year.
