"We live a moment that allows us to be together" - Novak Djokovic expresses gratitude for playing in the same era as Federer & Nadal
The current tennis fan community is blessed to witness the golden generation in men's tennis, thanks to the dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The trio are still setting records in men's tennis and hold the top three spots for most Grand Slam singles titles won, among a plethora of other accolades. While Federer leads the race with 20 Grand Slam titles, Nadal and Djokovic are not too far behind at 19 and 17 respectively.
With the Swiss Maestro sitting out the upcoming French Open, Nadal and Djokovic will have a chance to either tie or get closer to his Grand Slam record in Paris.
Novak Djokovic has made his ambitions pretty clear in the past. He wants to end up with the record for most Slams and most weeks at No. 1, both of which belong to Federer. But the Serb believes his goals are specific to his own mindset, and that the Swiss and the Spaniard would have their own unique objectives with respect to their careers.
Djokovic also talked about how thankful he is to be playing in the same era as Federer and Nadal, and how their matches almost always end up being classics.
"In our sport, the number of Grand Slams and weeks as number one, I would say, are the two main goals throughout my career," Djokovic said. "We all (himself, Federer and Nadal) have our own paths and trajectories, we have unique careers, but at the same time we live a moment that allows us to be together."
"It is definitely one of the best generations in the history of tennis and I am grateful to be in this era with these two players," he added. "Whenever we can play against each other, encounters are true classics. Yes, Federer is injured now, I hope he will recover soon and now we also have younger players, a new Grand Slam champion like Dominic Thiem."
Novak Djokovic believes Rafael Nadal is the favorite at Roland Garros
Novak Djokovic reached the semi-finals of the Italian Open on Saturday as he continued his preparation for Roland Garros. Rafael Nadal meanwhile suffered a shock upset to Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals.
At the time of speaking, however, Djokovic and Nadal were both still alive in the Italian Open in Rome. And the 33-year-old maintained that Nadal would remain the favorite in Paris.
"We know that Rafael Nadal is the favorite for Roland Garros, he has only lost two matches there and has an impressive track record," Novak Djokovic said.
Novak Djokovic also mentioned Dominic Thiem as a strong contender, before going on to discuss his own chances.
"Thiem is also a candidate, he has already played two finals there," Djokovic said. "If I manage to prepare well, I also like my options. Clay is the surface that demands the most out of players physically and mentally on the tour, so I have to be very prepared."