Novak Djokovic is on the verge of winning the historic Calendar Grand Slam if he manages to clinch the US Open later this year. The Serb earlier has won four Grand Slams in a row but not in a single year. This rare feat has been achieved by only two men- Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) and Don Budge (1937).
Former Grand Slam winner Pat cash believes that Djokovic is the man to achieve the elusive feat. In a recent interview with L’Equipe, the Australian was full of praise for the Serb. He believes that Djokovic is playing at a much higher standard than his competition, mainly at the Grand Slams.
“Well for Novak, I think this year is a great opportunity for him to grab a bunch of Grand Slams and grab all the titles,” Cash said. “The younger players are coming through, but they’re not quite there yet. And Novak is just sitting on top of that mountain as the king of the castle.”
“And so this is the year that Novak can really grab the impossible dream [of winning the Calendar Slam] – you know it really is, it’s there.”
Cash wants the current World No.1 to prioritize winning the Calendar Grand Slam. He feels that it is a lifetime opportunity for a player to win all four Grand Slams in a year. Hence the Serb should give more importance to it even more than winning the Gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
“The Olympics – okay, maybe [Djokovic] wants to do that […] But certainly, his goal is now to try and win all four Grand Slams in the calendar year. It’s not easy to do, but I really do think it’s in his sights and that has got to be his priority,” Cash added.
The 56-year-old also highlighted Matteo Berrettini who fought really well before losing to Djokovic in the Wimbledon finals. The Australian heaped praise on Berrettini for his fight and how he pushed Djokovic to the extremes. In a separate interview to this one, Cash also highlighted the improvements made by the Italian.
“Clearly he’s got a fantastic grass court game,” Cash noted. “I had reservations on his ability to play on grass without a very solid backhand, but his improvement over the last couple of years has been phenomenal.”
Lastly, Cash compared him with former World No. 1 player, Andy Roddick because of his big serve and strong forehand. He feels that if Berrettini continues this growth then he will be playing in a lot of Grand Slam finals.
