"If Novak Djokovic wins Wimbledon 2023, he's put himself far enough away from Rafael Nadal to threaten his Slam record" - Mats Wilander
With Wimbledon set to commence in the coming days, four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic is the man to beat by all accounts. Having won the first two Slams of the year, at the Australian Open and the French Open, the Serb could also make a play for the elusive Calendar Slam this season by triumphing at SW19.
Djokovic overtook arch-rival Rafael Nadal in the Slam race at the French Open, becoming the first man in the tennis history to win 23 Grand Slam titles. Victory in Wimbledon will take him to 24, a number Mats Wilander feels will be enough to put him definitively beyond the reach of Nadal.
Only Serena Williams has won as many Majors as Djokovic in the Open Era, while Margaret Court remains ahead of them both with 24 to her name. Wilander believes that the possibility of matching Court will put a little pressure on the 36-year-old, as well as the likelihood of potentially winning the Calendar Slam.
At the same time, with the World No. 2 having come mighty close in 2021 and falling just short of the achievement in the final of the US Open against Daniil Medevdev, Mats Wilander is confident that Novak Djokovic has learnt from his past experience.
“I mean, the pressure is on for Novak big time because obviously, if he wins, he ties Margaret Court at 24 Grand Slams. If he wins, he's now one Slam away from doing the calendar Grand Slam again. And if he wins [Wimbledon 2023], you would think that he's put himself far enough away in the distance from Rafael Nadal to come after him and actually threaten his [Slam] record," Wilander said in an interview with Eurosport.
“So I think the weight of expectations is there, but I don't think that it's quite there yet. I would think that he's learned a tremendous amount from losing in that final at the US Open against Daniil Medvedev when literally history was on the line and winning the calendar Grand Slam. Of course it has been done before, but Novak would separate himself from the other big two, Roger and Rafa," he added.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion further added that Djokovic must be feeling differently at Wimbledon compared to the Australian Open and the US Open, as very few players can put up a challenge against him on grass. The Swede went as far as to assert that the reason Djokovic is so confident on the surface is because others are so uncomfortable on grass.
“So this time I think Wimbledon is a little bit more relaxed for him. I do think that he goes into the tournament thinking that, okay, a grass court is very uncomfortable for most players. At least this is the way I see it. To me, there's a few players that he can lose to, but I don't see that many players that can win the tournament," Mats Wilander said.
“Whereas when you go and look at the US Open or the Australian Open, there are many, many more players that can have a great two weeks and can win it here. No one really feels comfortable on a grass court apart from maybe Novak Djokovic. And the reason why he feels comfortable, I think, is because he knows the other players are feeling uncomfortable," he added.
Mats Wilander doesn't believe Carlos Alcaraz has learned to play on grass enough to threaten Novak Djokovic
The main challenge to Novak Djokovic in his quest for an eighth title at Wimbledon comes in the form of Carlos Alcaraz, who won his maiden title on grass earlier this week at the Queen's Club Championships. Regardless, Mats Wilander doesn't believe the Spanish sensation is good enough to stop the Serb.
Wilander, in fact, is of the opinion that even if Djokovic fails to Wimbledon this year for one reason or the other, the state of the tour is such that he can win the title next year to go level with Roger Federer atop the men's winners list.
“Of course, Carlos Alcaraz with the win in Queen's is very dangerous. But can he have learned in just one year on grass courts and not that many matches? Can he have learned enough to threaten Novak? I don't think so," Mats Wilander said.
"I think the pressure is on in a way. But he's healthy, he looks young. I think he can win Wimbledon next year if he doesn't win it this year. So I think he's got more time on his side than I think we most probably realise, because it's just not normal to have more time when you're 36 years old and you're winning everything already,” he added.
Djokovic will begin his 2023 Wimbledon campaign against Pedro Cachin, with a potential quarterfinal against seventh seed Andrey Rublev looming large.