Roger Federer believes that a Calendar Slam is still possible in men’s tennis, following Novak Djokovic’s unsuccessful attempt at achieving the feat earlier this month.
The veteran tennis star thinks that a little bit of luck is required for any tennis player to emulate Rod Laver and win a Calendar Slam.
“It was also nice to see [Rod Laver] again now at the US Open in the finals, watching Novak try to equal his Calendar Grand Slam, and I think it is possible that it’s gonna happen again. We saw it with Novak, myself, and Rafa that we come extremely close but just doing it, you know, I think you need a bit of luck,” said the 40-year-old.
The Swiss star feels that it is hard to complete a Calendar Slam, but it is possible. He praised Djokovic’s attempt, calling it exceptional.
“You need perseverance, strength, you need everything, and that’s why I think it’s gonna be hard, but it’s possible. We’ll have to ask also Rod Laver what he thought because he was sitting [in the] the first row watching Novak play. But what Novak did this year was, of course, truly exceptional,” Federer said.
Novak Djokovic came agonizingly close to achieving a Calendar Slam at this year’s US Open. The Serbian had comfortably won the Australian Open and Wimbledon and was made to work by Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the French Open. The 34-year-old reached the final of the US Open but lost in straight sets to Russian star Daniil Medvedev.
Djokovic tied with Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most Grand Slams in men’s singles tennis earlier this year after winning the first three Grand Slam tournaments of the year. The Serb had the opportunity to become the first man to win the Calendar Gold Slam – winning all four Grand Slams as well as a gold at the Olympics. He, unfortunately, was knocked out in the semi-finals of the men’s singles at the Olympics earlier this year. Only Steffi Graf has won the Calendar Golden Slam in singles tennis, a feat she achieved in 1988.
The last men’s singles player to achieve the Calendar Slam was Rod Laver, who did it in 1969, repeating the feat he achieved seven years earlier in 1962.
Djokovic admitted to immense pressure to achieve the Calendar Grand Slam at the US Open, stating that he was relieved after the final because of the mental and emotional pressure he had to deal with in the lead up to the tournament.
