By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, February 9, 2016
"Whether or not I win the French Open, it's not going to change, significantly, the way I look at my career," Novak Djokovic said.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Winning Roland Garros to complete the career Grand Slam would solidify Novak Djokovic's status as an iconic champion.
The 11-time Grand Slam champion said he feels no stress to peak for Paris and capture the only Grand Slam crown missing from his major collection. Djokovic is playing for history to become just the eighth man to complete the career Grand Slam.
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"Whether or not I win the French Open, it's not going to change, significantly, the way I look at my career," Djokovic said in this video interview produced by Head, his racquet sponsor.
"Of course, it will be nice if I get to win it at least once before I stop playing tennis. But I'm not going to stress myself too much about it."
The three-time French Open finalist has reached at least the semifinals in Paris in seven of the last nine years.
Djokovic was a strong favorite in the 2015 French Open final, but bowed to an inspired Stan Wawrinka, who blasted 60 winners in a four-set victory to collect his first Roland Garros championship and deny Djokovic the career Grand Slam last June.
Shrugging off that loss, Djokovic has won 34 of his last 35 Grand Slam matches, trampled over his rivals reeling off 17 victories in his last 18 matches versus Top 10 opponents and is now occupying the rare air realized only by all-time champions.
When Rafael Nadal defeated Djokovic in the 2010 US Open final, he joined Fred Perry, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer as the seventh man to complete the career Slam. At the age of 24 years, 101 days, Nadal became the first man since Laver in 1969 to win Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in succession, and was the third youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam after Budge (22 years, 357 days) and Laver (24 years, 32 days).
The 28-year-old Serbian is playing at the peak of his powers now. Djokovic holds an astounding lead in the rankings of nearly 8,000 points over world No. 2 Andy Murray.
Djokovic insists he's not feeling any added pressure pursuing his fourth consecutive Grand Slam championship.
"I'm just going to enjoy the second part of the season," Djokovic said. "Hopefully, I'll be able to stay in form and be in good shape for the French Open."