The Forgotten G.O.A.T.
Novak Djokovic didn’t make it to this year’s Wimbeldon finals after losing to American Sam Querrey last week. Considering he’s been in 18 of the last 23 Grand Slam finals, this is pretty shocking. Philip Rivers using birth control level shocking. The fact it is so surprising speaks volumes to just how thoroughly dominant the Djoker has been over the past decade.
Not long ago, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal sat atop the sport, joined soon by Djokovic and Englishman Andy Murray, forming a Big Four of sorts. At this point, Federer is finally starting to lose those break points to Father Time, and poor Nadal has worse knees than Derrick Rose. While Murray is the #2 player in the world, Djokovic has been the Yankees to Murray’s Pedro, thoroughly handling the Brit throughout their careers. There is no doubt who the best player in the world is today. At this point, Novak is competing only with himself. And history.
Since the 2011 Australian Open, Djokovic has won as many Grand Slams as the rest of his competition combined, bringing his total to 12, currently tied for 4th all time. He has compiled an 83% winning percentage while earning over $100 million and holding the #1 ranking for 206 weeks. Until Novak lost at Wimbledon, he held all 4 Grand Slam titles at the same time. Sound familiar?
It is indeed Woods-like, but peak Tiger was the most famous athlete in the world, the lead story on SportsCenter after each round, his every move meticulously chronicled. (Maybe not every move.) Even when he wins Grand Slams, Novak is usually relegated to the late segment on sports shows, tucked behind a report on who LeBron’s following on Twitter.
This disparity in recognition is strange. It’s not as if tennis is more of a niche sport than golf. In fact, given that they’re the two most famous Country Club Sports, there’s likely a lot fanbase overlap. So why did everyone care about Woods but exponentially fewer people care about Djokovic?
It’s even stranger when you factor in what a likeable sumbitch Novak is. Proving he may be the anti-Tiger, Djokovic met his wife in high school and dated her for 8 years (!) before getting married. Tiger waited for 8 seconds before cheating on his wife. The couple has even founded a charity to help children in underserved areas grow up in safe and nurturing environments.
He’s a self-proclaimed language fanatic, fluent in Serbian, English, French, German and Italian. Just about anywhere his assault on tennis history takes him, Djokovic is able to charm the crowd in their native tongue in post-match interviews, having barely broken a sweat pulverizing another opponent.
But the Djoker’s charisma doesn’t end with his multi-lingual tongue. A popular talk show guest, he’s even logged appearances in weird foreign music videos. He is among the most popular players among other pros on the tour and is known for doing spot-on impressions of many of them.
How fun is that? Imagine him alone in a hotel room practicing putting hair behind his ears like Maria Sharpova until he gets it exactly right (“Come on Novak, she’s much more graceful than that, make an effort!”) and try not to laugh. This dude is committed to his craft, even if his craft is pretending to be a 120-pound Russian woman.
Despite oozing this sort of star power, Djokovic’s endorsement deals and overall exposure still pale in comparison to post-scandal — and essentially post-golf — Tiger Woods. People are still more interested in an ex-golfer/serial adulterer who’s famously prickly with the media than a Serbian charm machine in the middle of an all-time career.
Which brings us back to what Novak Djokovic really cares about (millions of endorsement dollars notwithstanding): tennis. Not that long ago, 29-year-olds like Novak were considered senior citizens, more likely to be starting a career in broadcasting them continuing to dominate the sport. Thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, players can be competitive well into their 30's. Seeing as Djokovic has shown zero signs of slowing down — and is just five titles behind Roger Federer — it’s fair to say he has a great shot at breaking the all-time Grand Slam record.
We might be witnessing the greatest career in tennis history, but it’s being treated like he’s the third starter on the Rockies. So rarely in sports do we see the perfect intersection of G.O.A.T.-level talent and supreme likeability. Let’s appreciate Novak Djokovic while we still can.
