I don’t believe in limits – Djokovic confident of making grand slam history
Two years after declaring he was ready to quit, Novak Djokovic has “clear goals” in his quest to make history.
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is “very confident” he will end his career with a record tally of grand slam titles.
Djokovic has 17 major triumphs to his name after retaining his Australian Open title in January, three fewer than Roger Federer’s record haul.
Rafael Nadal is also above the Serb in the list for the most men’s grand slam singles titles with 19, as the best players in the world wait to discover when they will be back in action after the season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Djokovic, who turns 33 next Friday, has won five of the last seven grand slams and is the youngest of the ‘big three’.
The world number one not only has his sights trained on winning more majors than his rivals, but also the record for most weeks at the top of the rankings.
Djokovic, officially the best player in the world for 282 weeks compared to Federer’s record of 310, said in an interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger: “I don’t believe in limits. I think limits are only illusions of your ego or your mind.”
He added: “I’m always very confident in myself. I believe I can win the most slams and break the record for longest number one. Those are definitely my clear goals.”
That positive outlook is a far cry from when Djokovic declared he was ready to quit after a defeat to Benoit Paire at the Miami Open two years ago.
Djokovic’s wife, Jelena, recalled: “He said to me that he’s quitting and that’s the truth. He lost in Miami. It was a terrible loss. And then he just, you know, gathered all of us and said, ‘You know guys, I’m done.’
“And I was like, ‘What?’ And he goes like, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Edoardo [Artaldi, his agent], you can speak with my sponsors. I want to be clear with them. I don’t know if I’m stopping for six months, a year or forever.'”
