Novak Djokovic only has Rod Laver in front of him
When it comes to the success rate at official tennis tournaments for men, Novak Djokovic only has the great Rod Laver in front of him.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Nov 11, 2021, 03:36 pm
Good: Every statistic in which the names Rod Laver, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, John McEnroe, but also Juan Manuel Cerundolo appear, should be critically questioned per se. Above all, what the left-hander from Argentina is looking for in such prominent company. Well: Cerundolo has so far participated in four ATP tournaments, winning one of them (in Cordoba this year) and thus a title quota of 25 percent. The odds that Cerundolo will still be ranked between Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras in the same statistics in the coming year should not be particularly high.
With his victory in Paris-Bercy last Sunday, industry leader Novak Djokovic further improved his quota, 86 titles in 267 tournament starts (32.2 percent) show the Serb second in the all-time ranking behind Rod Laver. "The Rocket" came to 72 championships in 212 starts (33.96 percent).
Djokovic in front of Nadal and Federer
But is a comparison of the top talent Laver and Djokovic even permissible and useful? The former maybe, the latter certainly not. Tennis in the 1960s was nowhere near as global as it is today (to be precise: the Australians and Americans set the tone, a few French, British, Italians and South Americans were allowed to get involved from time to time) Athletics only played a minor role in Rod Laver's heyday.
It cannot be ruled out that Novak Djokovic can get even closer to Rod Laver with more brilliant seasons. However, it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to achieve the all-time record for Jimmy Connors. Connors has won 23 more titles than Djokovic in his career, which could be tight in the rather frugal tournament program of the 34-year-old Belgrade. On the other hand: The value of Connors' titles cannot be compared with those of Djokovic. The latter has 20 majors, the American ended his career at eight.
Murray wants to stop the trend
The comparison of Djokovic with the big rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer makes more sense. And Nole is clearly ahead of the game. Nadal is just over 30 percent, Federer 28.06. The fact that they are clearly putting Juan Manuel Cerundolo in his place will hopefully make the currently pausing grandmasters satisfied.
Andy Murray still has a title quota of over 17 percent, but the trend is falling. In Stockholm, the Scot is currently trying to stop the trend.