By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday May 19, 2021
Novak Djokovic, the unstoppable force that found his way past Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros before claiming his 19th major title on Sunday, is still in the running for the calendar Slam.
On Sunday, his longtime coach Marian Vajda says that the world-beating Serb is in good enough shape to go after it.
“As much as Novak is healthy, and he’s healthy right now, he’s in great shape, I think he has ability to win the Grand Slam for this year. I’m pretty sure,” Vajda said.
Asked to elaborate, Vajda added that Djokovic’s goal is to win every major major event he plays. Never mind that it’s a crowded year and Wimbledon is just two weeks away, with the Olympics not long after that, wedged between the Championships and the U.S. Open.
Merci beaucoup ❤️🏆🇫🇷 #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/9sec67ivN0
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) June 13, 2021
“Obviously his goal and our goal is to win the Olympics and then win the Grand Slam,” Vajda said. “That would be the absolutely top of this year. But it’s still far away from us. We have to still focus on the next one. But overall he’s set up for this year. His priority is really set up like Wimbledon, Olympics, and US Open. I think that says all. His schedule is according that we practice and prepare for those tournaments.
Djokovic, who is now just one major title behind both Federer and Nadal, says he’ll keep working to catch them. He never thought it was out of the question, he said.
“I never thought it was a mission impossible to reach the Grand Slams of these guys,” he said. “I mean, I’m not there, but it’s one less. But they are still playing. Obviously they’re playing great, especially Rafa with his level.
“We all have still opportunities at Wimbledon, all the other slams. You have four slams a year, so we’re all competing for this amazing achievement and amazing trophies. I’ll keep on going. I’ll keep on chasing. At the same time I’ll keep on paving my own path, which is my own authentic path. We all three of us have our own journeys, and that’s it.”