Tennis legend Rod Laver has stated that he will be happy to welcome Novak Djokovic to the Calendar slam club. Djokovic is standing on the doors of history and he can become the third Male Tennis player to achieve the illustrious Calendar slam. The Serbian has already won three majors in the ongoing season and he will look to continue the good show.
Meanwhile, Rod Laver is thus far the solitary player to win Calendar slam on two occasions, having achieved the landmark in 1962 and 1969. Don Budge had become the first player to win Calendar slam back in 1938. In fact, no other Tennis player has achieved the Calendar slam since Laver did so back in 1969.
On the other hand, Djokovic could have also become the first Men’s player to achieve a Golden slam but he lost in the semifinal of the Tokyo Olympics against Germany’s Alexander Zverev.
“I’d be very happy to shake his hand if he can win the four Slams. I’d be happy for him to be a part of — whether it’s a ‘club’ or not, I don’t know,” Laver said during a recent interview with The Associated Press.
“When Don Budge won it in 1938, and I did it in ’62, he says: ‘We’re in a special club here. There’s only two of us in it,’” Laver said.
Laver, who won 11 Grand slam titles in his glorious career, added that Djokovic could be under some pressure as he is talking about it.
“I never said I was going for a Grand Slam; that’s pressure right there,” Laver said. “And Djokovic, I think he wants to talk about it, and so that could be a detriment, if there is one. He knows all the players, so there shouldn’t be any problem with [that].
“I think pressure is the one thing Djokovic may find himself having problems [with]. Maybe he’s not feeling well. There’s lots of things that can go wrong.”
Djokovic will face Denmark’s Holger Rune in the first round of the US Open.
