Novak Djokovic extended the ‘Big Three’ dominance at Grand Slam level by winning his eighth Australian Open and Lleyton Hewitt has backed him and beaten finalist Dominic Thiem to provide a serious threat to Rafael Nadal’s French Open crown.
Djokovic, 32, beat three-time Grand Slam runner-up Thiem in five sets on Sunday to close the gap on Roger Federer and Nadal at the top of the all-time majors charts – and could, in theory, equal Federer’s 20-Slam haul as early as September if he were to win all four Slams in 2020. Nadal looks more likely to catch Federer first, however.
The 12-time French Open champion is just one title away from the Swiss great, with Roland Garros the next major tournament to be contested.
Most Grand Slam titles (ATP) 20 – Federer 19 – Nadal 17 – Djokovic 14 – Sampras. But former world No. 1 Hewitt believes Djokovic and Thiem – runner-up in Paris in the past two seasons – are both capable of upsetting the ‘King of Clay’ in June. (Text, excluding headline, courtesy of Metro)