For a large portion of his career, Novak Djokovic was third in the race for the most Grand Slams, behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Having burst onto the scene slightly later than Federer and Nadal, Djokovic was always playing catch-up with his longtime rivals.
In 2023, however, after securing his third Roland Garros crown, the Serb became the outright leader in men’s singles history, with 24 majors.
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After winning his 17th at the 2020 Australian Open, Djokovic was asked at what point in his career did he believe he was capable of breaking the record, which for many years was held by Federer.
Novak Djokovic’s comments about major titles back in 2020
He responded: “It was more about Grand Slams, to be honest. Especially the first part of my career, I was dreaming of winning as many Grand Slams as possible.
“When I started winning a couple of Grand Slams a year, a few years in a row, that’s where I felt, actually I can maybe challenge Roger and Pete Sampras, all these guys that were winning most Grand Slams in their careers in the history of tennis.”
Djokovic also became the player with the most total weeks as world number one, a record he had not thought about in the early stages of his career.
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“The number one [record] was not really in the equation for me until I successfully finished as the year-end No. 1 for several years in a row,” he said.
“I can’t identify exactly the moment when I started thinking about it. That’s one of the two biggest goals, for sure. I mean, there is no secret in that.”
Novak Djokovic’s explanation for his mental strength
Discussing what has made the ‘big three’ so resilient, Djokovic said: “It’s hard to speak on behalf of Roger and Rafa. I have utmost respect for these guys and admiration for who they are, what they have achieved, how they go about things on and off the court.
“I can speak in my own behalf. I think we all had different trajectories in our lives. I mean, we all grew up in different circumstances, different countries, different upbringing.
“My upbringing was in Serbia during several wars during ’90s, difficult time, embargo in our country where we had to wait in line for bread, milk, water, some basic things in life.
“These kind of things make you stronger and hungrier for success I think in whatever you choose to do.
“That probably has been my foundation, the very fact that I came from literally nothing and difficult life circumstances together with my family and with my people. Going back to that, reminding myself where I came from always inspires me, motivates me to push even harder.
“That’s probably one of the reasons why I managed to find that extra gear or necessary, I guess, mental strength to overcome challenges when they present themselves.”
Djokovic came close to winning a 25th Grand Slam title at this year’s Australian Open, but just fell short in the final to Carlos Alcaraz.
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