BELGRADE (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic will head to Wimbledon buoyed by a spectacular French Open triumph and aiming to stay on course for completing a calendar-year Grand Slam as well as going level on 20 majors with Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer.
A window of opportunity has opened up for the 34-year-old Serb to match his two great rivals and also become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four majors in the same year.
There are many obstacles still ahead for Djokovic but with Nadal not playing at Wimbledon and Federer having missed so much tennis in the last two years, he has a chance, perhaps even of completing the Golden Slam by also winning the Tokyo Olympics.
Having won the Australian Open in February, Djokovic initially struggled on the European clay.
But after dismantling Nadal in the French Open semi-final, he went on to claim the title for the second time, coming back from two sets down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in a riveting final.
Djokovic’s preparation for the defense of the Wimbledon title he won in 2019 took an unusual turn as he opted to spend some family time in the Spanish island of Mallorca, fine-tuning his game by playing doubles on the grass at the Mallorca Open.