Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest tennis players of all-time. The man has won 11 grand slam tiles, is ranked #1 in the world, and has raked in more prize money than any player in the history of the sport: $99,272,343. In short, Novak Djokovic has accomplished just about everything one could ever want in tennis.
I say "just about" because there is one thing that still eludes him and that is a French Open title at Roland Garros. It's weird to think that one could be considered the second greatest tennis player of all-time and not yet possess a career grand slam and yet if you were to ask me for the top two greatest tennis players of all-time, I would say Roger Federer and then Novak Djokovic.
I don't mean to dismiss other legends of the game like Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras, but when you watch Novak Djokovic play tennis and then see his body of work, it's hard to think of anybody who has played the sport better. Djokovic has a fantastic serve, cat-like quickness, one of the greatest return of serves the sport has ever seen, and an ability to hit the most difficult shots when he's under the most pressure.
He has ice in his veins and rises to the occasion in the biggest moments. He is the ultimate tennis player and a classy one at that. He always congratulates his opponents in defeat and applauds their efforts when he wins. We may never see another tennis player as good as Novak Djokovic ever again and yet with all of that being said he is still yet to win a career grand slam because of the French Open.
Should we wait to call him the greatest tennis player of all-time until he wins at Roland Garros? Do we cut him slack because he dueled against the greatest clay court player of all-time in Rafael Nadal? Is the career grand slam essential to his legacy or is it just something that adds to it?
I guess it depends on what you are asking, exactly. If you are asking whether or not Novak Djokovic needs a French Open title to prove he is an all-time great, the answer is obviously no. His 11 grand slam titles and prize money speak for themselves. But, if you are asking whether or not Novak Djokovic needs a French Open title to be considered the greatest of all-time, I think this is not such an easy question to answer.
For one thing, both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are considered the top two players of all-time in many people's books largely because they have won a career grand slam. In order to be considered greater than them, it stands to reason that you must accomplish everything they've accomplished and then more. Winning a career grand slam seems to be an essential piece to any greatest of all-time resume, which means failing to win one would be a significant mark on Novak Djokovic's otherwise phenomenal career.
I personally think that Novak Djokovic knows this and thus wants to win the French Open more than any other grand slam. He wants to cement himself as the greatest player of all-time and remove any shred of doubt. So long as he doesn't have a French Open title under his belt, that shred of doubt will remain. It may seem somewhat unfair, but what we are talking about is being remembered as the greatest to ever play the sport.
If Novak Djokovic never wins a French Open title, there will always be people saying that Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal is the greatest because they got the job done at all four grand slams. If on the other hand he is able to join them in the career grand slam club, it will become almost impossible to argue that he isn't the greatest of all-time. He will have accomplished everything that they have and done it while they were still in their primes.
A French Open title for Novak Djokovic will nearly cement his place as the greatest player of all-time with only six grand slam titles to go before he passes Roger Federer for most grand slam titles ever. I have no doubt that Novak Djokovic will pass Roger Federer for most grand slam titles ever. The only question is will he win a French Open title and so long as that question remains unanswered, Novak Djokovic will fall short of being the sport's greatest player.
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