Novak Djokovic will continue his search for a 25th Grand Slam title later this season, with the French Open representing his next chance of doing exactly that.
Juan Martin del Potro has been supporting Djokovic at his latest tournament, where the Serbian is into the final of the Miami Open.
Djokovic has, of course, already taken on one Grand Slam this season, retiring hurt in his Australian Open semi-final with Alexander Zverev.
But he has enjoyed huge success at the Melbourne tournament, with his 10 Australian Open titles more than any other ATP player.
And fittingly, the event represents his very first Grand Slam title, with Djokovic beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 2008 Australian Open final.
Novak Djokovic said Roger Federer’s dominance wasn’t ‘finished’ in 2008
But given the legendary feats of fellow icon Roger Federer, the Swiss star’s name inevitably cropped up in Djokovic’s winning press conference.
Asked at the time if he felt Federer’s dominance in the game was now finished, the Serbian replied: “No, I don’t think so, no. I mean, it’s not possible that only one tournament is changing the history.
“Of course, I mean, I played amazing tennis here, so I think I absolutely deserved to win, even against him in the semi-finals.
“You know, he accepted in the right way. Sure, he’s going to come back in a big style, of course. He’s still planning to be the best player in the world, so we all know how good he is. We’re going to see a lot of him, of course, this year.”
Novak Djokovic addresses ‘changing of the guard’ after 2008 Australian Open final
Djokovic was the third seed at the Australian Open back then, and as mentioned met top seed Federer in the semi-final.
But the former dispatched the latter to great effect in that meeting, winning 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(7-5), while Tsonga impressively knocked out second seed Rafael Nadal.
READ MORE: What Roger Federer did towards the end of his tennis career which ‘amazed’ Pete Sampras
The Frenchman did, however, then fall short against Djokovic in the final, as the Serbian came from behind to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7-2).
The champion was also asked if he felt that the changing of the guard was now taking place given the two finalists, with Djokovic saying: “Well, I knew that he’s going to go for the shots, you know.
“He’s playing in the first Grand Slam finals. He’s had an amazing tournament. Of course, he absolutely deserved to be in that position.
“Today was a very, very close match, so could go either way, that’s for sure. Was just a couple of shots, a couple of points deciding. But, you know, still it’s my first Grand Slam. I’m very happy for that. I’m going to take it easy, you know.
“I’m not going to try to think about, you know, reaching even higher goals right away. You know, I’m not in a rush.
“I want to enjoy my success and just celebrate with the people I care about. From then, I’ll see where it goes.”
It’s fair to say that his Federer verdict was accurate, with the Swiss star reaching the final in the other three Grand Slams that year alone, winning the US Open.
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