Conor Niland only ever reached a career-high of 129 in the world on the ATP Tour but he got to take on the legendary Novak Djokovic at the US Open in 2011 at Flushing Meadows.
The player who is the most successful male tennis player of all time. That in itself is quite remarkable considering he only ever qualified for two Grand Slams and was never a top 100 player.
However, credit to him, he chose to stay with Tennis Ireland rather than operating under the Great Britain umbrella which would have likely handed him more opportunities in the way of wildcards and seedings for challenger events.
After qualifying for Wimbledon in 2011, Niland went and also made it to the main draw at the US Open and when the draw was made he was handed a plum first-round tie against Djokovic to be played on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Conor Niland shares what people don’t get right about Novak Djokovic
Niland achieved what many players who embark on a journey as a professional tennis player never do and played at two Grand Slam events.
His Wimbledon clash with Adrian Mannarino was heartbreaking. Niland was cruising in the fifth set with the winner set to play Roger Federer in round two but choked and ended up losing a gruelling match.
His match against Djokovic was marred with a bout of food poisoning. He really shouldn’t have been out on the court in total honesty but gave it a go before retiring at 5-1 down in the second set after losing the first to love.
Playing Djokovic allowed him a look at the legendary star, however, and he believes there is a common misconception about the player who has won 24 Grand Slam titles during his career.
In his Sports Book of the Year, The Racket, he explains: “It’s not exactly right to say that the very top players like Djokovic hit the ball much harder than the like of Mannarino did.
“But they hit it deeper, right to the baseline, and they do it relentlessly. It doesn’t look like a big difference on the TV, but that extra foot and a half of depth, over and over, is a killer. This didn’t so much put me under pressure as put me under siege.”
Djokovic will go down as the best ever tennis player when he retires
Every tennis fan will have their favourite player of all time. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will take the majority of the votes and often Djokovic is overlooked when it comes to the discussion.
However, for Djokovic to still be in the top 10 at 37 and reach Grand Slam finals as he did at Wimbledon last year is quite remarkable – even if injuries are starting to catch up with him.
It remains to be seen whether or not the player will win another Grand Slam title. Right now, staying fit appears to be the big stumbling block with a knee issue crippling him last year and a hamstring problem forcing him to retire at the recent Australian Open.
Djokovic is going to go down as the greatest of all-time, however, and when it comes to the number of major titles that he’s won it’s hard to imagine any of the current crip eclipsing him.
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