Calender Grand Slam now looks a distinct possibility for Djokovic

As Novak Djokovic has spent the past two years mopping up 75% of the Grand Slam titles on offer, it has still been possible to hear some dissenting voices as to whether the Serb merits inclusion in the debate about the greatest male player of all time. Perhaps the biggest Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal diehards would disagree but after the world No. 1 won his fourth successive major title and completed a career Grand Slam with victory over Andy Murray on Sunday, surely there can be no doubt.Djokovic’s 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win means he has won 12 Slam titles, putting him joint-fourth on the all-time list, alongside Australian Roy Emerson, two behind Nadal and Pete Sampras and five behind Federer. He has won six of the past eight Slams and at 29 and seemingly at the peak of his powers, he seems likely to push even Federer at 17. As a downbeat Murray admitted: “What Novak has achieved in the past year has been phenomenal.”From the minute he was beaten in four sets by Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final last year, returning to Roland Garros has been unfinished business for Djokovic, who was also beaten twice by Nadal. From playing on four successive days as he made the semi-finals after numerous rain delays, to dealing with adversity in matches, Djokovic seemed to address it all with a strange inner calmness, something that came through even as Murray won the first set.For all of Federer’s and Nadal’s brilliance, Djokovic has taken the game to a new level. His return of serve almost defies belief, regularly to within millimetres of the baseline, even off the best of serves. His pressure is relentless, his movement verges on the ridiculous and his self-belief has become his biggest weapon of all, something that was not always the case when Federer and Nadal were in their pomp.“In one way or another you try to compare yourself to them and what they have achieved before,” Djokovic says. “Nadal and Federer were so dominant in the sport when Andy and myself joined the mix. At the beginning I was not glad to be part of their era. Later on I realised that in life everything happens for a reason. You’re put in this position with a purpose, a purpose to learn and to grow and to evolve.”Last year, Djokovic won three Slams and lost in the final in Paris. Now, for the first time since 1992, a calendar Grand Slam looks a possibility, with Djokovic having added Paris to his Australian Open crown. If anyone can do it, perhaps he can. “I don’t want to sound arrogant but I really think everything is achievable in life. Whether or not I can reach a calendar slam, that’s still a possibility, but I don’t think about it right now. I just try to enjoy this experience of winning the trophy that I never won before,” he candidly states.Should he win Wimbledon in five weeks’ time, when he will defend his title, the calendar slam will be very much on his mind.