Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Novak Djokovic on the Slams: “I was so close again this year.”

Only a few singles players have won a Grand Slam. The fabulous Rod Laver won it twice in 1962 and 1969.  The 19-year-old Steffi Graf did it in 1988, winning at all four majors and the Olympics, named “The Golden Slam.”

The current No. 1 Novak Djokovic would love to win all four in one year, as he had grabbed three majors in 2011 and this season, he did it again. The other No. 1, Serena Williams, came close in 2015, winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon but finally she fell in the semifinals of the US Open. She was so upset emotionally that she decided to shut it down during the rest of the season.

In 2011, the Serbian won the Australian Open, but lost in the final at Roland Garros. But he didn’t panic. He got up, moved ahead and won Wimbledon and the US Open.

The same thing occurred in 2015. He won the Australian Open, beating the Britain Andy Murray. Then he was somewhat stunned against Stan Wawrinka in the Roland Garros final. Yet once again, he rose up and didn’t shake. He took down the great Roger Federer in the final at Wimbledon and the US Open.

He would love to win all four, but if it doesn’t, he will be just fine.

“Winning three out of four Grand Slams and playing another final is not disappointment. In contrary, it’s as good as it can get,” Djokovic said. “One match more and it’s a perfect score.

It has been an unbelievable Grand Slam season. Probably the best of my life next to the one in 2011, but somehow I feel like this one is even better. I have no reason to regret anything that happened this year. I feel like Roland Garros final was very emotional, but it happened for a reason. Because I have lost that match, I feel like I was even more eager to come back and play well on Grand Slams. I think this was a big part of my success in Wimbledon and US Open.”

However, it is very hard to win three Grand Slams in a row and then be able to deal with the pressure at the US Open.  Serena Williams said that the entire world was watching her. The same could go with Djokovic, if he ever gets close again.

“If I had won Roland Garros, you never know how the rest of the season would go. Roland Garros was every year more or less a biggest priority. I was so close again this year,” said Djokovic, who is playing Beijing this week “But if I had won it, maybe I would have been satisfied with that and the rest of the season would not be as it is now. In life, everything happens for a reason. I try to look back at the things that happened for me and try to learn from those experiences and move on as a better and stronger player.”

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.