Novak Djokovic moved a step closer to becoming the leading male player in Grand Slam singles history. The 34-year-old defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7 (6-8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires for the second time and his 19th Grand Slam title overall. Nadal and Federer have each won 20 majors and are in danger of being overtaken by the Serbian star. The 34-year-old admitted that he is excited by the prospect of closing the gap. “I never thought it was a mission impossible to reach the Grand Slams of these guys,” said Djokovic. “I mean, I’m not there, but it’s one less. But they are still playing. Obviously, they’re playing great, especially Rafa with his level. “We all have still opportunities at Wimbledon, all the other slams. You have four slams a year, so we’re all competing for this amazing achievement and amazing trophies. I’ll keep on going. I’ll keep on chasing. “At the same time, I’ll keep on paving my own path, which is my own authentic path. We all three of us have our own journeys, and that’s it.” Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander, meanwhile, believes the odds are stacked in the favour of a ‘scary’ Djokovic to become the first male player to achieve the unprecedented golden slam in the same calendar year. “We are now heading into the season where we would have to put Novak as the favourite to win Wimbledon most probably, favourite at the US Open because of what he does on hard courts – so yes, it’s on and the way he looks – he looks young, he looks so fresh at the end, he looks scary good and motivated,” the Swede told Eurosport. “I’m not sure what he tells himself in the mind when he is two sets to love down, is he able to completely forget what the score is and is it just about he spent two hours with his opponent and now knows exactly what he needs to do?”
Source: Express/ *Join us on Telegram!/ Follow us on Twitter!