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Laver saddened by Djokovic’s failed calendar Slam bid
LONDON: Rod Laver admitted Sunday he was saddened by Novak Djokovic’s failure to break his 47-year long Grand Slam record.
LONDON: Rod Laver admitted Sunday he was saddened by Novak Djokovic’s failure to break his 47-year long Grand Slam record.
World number one Djokovic suffered a shock defeat to unheralded Sam Querrey of the United States in the Wimbledon third round on Saturday in what was his earliest exit at a major in seven years.
The loss also meant that Laver remains the last man to sweep the calendar Grand Slam in 1969.
“I’m still happy to have the title, but I don’t own it ,” Australian legend L avert old ESPN .“I would have liked to have been at the US Open and be the first to shake Djokovic’s hand if he did it. Don Budge did that for me in 1962 at Forest Hills.”
Budge’s message to Laver was: “Welcome to an exclusive club.”
American player Budge won the first calendar Grand Slam in 1938 before Laver achieved the feat twice, in 1962 and 1969.
Djokovic had already captured the Australian and French Open titles in 2016 and was heavily favoured to defend his Wimbledon crown. That would have left just the defence of his US Open trophy standing in the way of him and a place in the record books.
Laver, 77, believes Djokovic may have been lacking motivation after finally winning a first French Open last month which gave him ownership of all four Slams at the same ttime. “He just wasn’t himself,him something was off,” said Laver.
“I think maybe he felt winning all four titles and being the defending champion of all four was a Grand Slam in his mind.
“And so even if it wasn’t in the calendar year, it didn’t matter. Way back in there somewhere you are thinking one thing, that it doesn’t matter, but you are thinking it does matter. “Those are two different thoughts to have when you are playing.”
