Novak Djokovic is back on court Saturday afternoon against Kei Nishikori, a US Open title and the Grand Slam still in his sights. Most assuredly, a victory in New York would seal this season as the greatest Grand Slam campaign by a men’s player since Rod Laver won the second of his two Slams in 1969.
As we take this run at history alongside the world No. 1, let’s look back at some of the finest Slam seasons since Rocket Rod lifted the trophy at the West Side Tennis Club 52 years ago:
Jimmy Connors – 1974
Connors’ 1974 campaign stands as one of the biggest what-ifs in tennis history. Connors was barred from competing in Roland Garros that year because of his association with World TeamTennis. The move did not seem historically significant at the time, with Connors having just won his maiden major earlier that year at the Australian Open, but then the fiery left-hander caught fire. He defeated Ken Rosewall to win both Wimbledon and the US Open, wrapping up a major campaign that saw him go 20-0 (the Aussie Open was only six rounds) – perfect, but without having Paris, not a Grand Slam. Of ongoing discussion for tennis historians is how Connors would have fared at the French: The other three majors that year were contested on grass, and the five-time US Open champion never mastered the red clay, though his ban kept him from Roland Garros during the prime of his career, from 1974 to 1978.
Bjorn Borg – 1980
Borg swept the French Open and Wimbledon for three consecutive years, 1978 to 1980, but the last of those seasons is widely considered his finest. At a time when many of the best players in the world chose to skip the long trip to Australia, Borg contested only the last three Slams of the season, and he made them count. The indomitable Swede once again claimed Roland Garros without surrendering a set and followed that with a gutty Wimbledon run that culminated in a five-set win over John McEnroe, a match that still resonates as one the greatest in tennis history. Borg then nearly made it three-for-three in New York but lost a two-set lead in the final to Johnny Mac, who would win a third-set tiebreak and secure a five-set victory.
John McEnroe – 1984
Like Borg before him, McEnroe did not play the Australian Open in 1984, but he won nearly everywhere else. In a season in which he went 84-3 and captured 13 titles, McEnroe claimed both the Wimbledon and US Open crowns – dropping one lone set at Wimbledon, blitzing longtime rival Connors in the final, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, and just two at the US Open, both to Connors in a classic semifinal. But as it did Connors, the French Open eluded McEnroe throughout his career. In fact, 1984 was his only final in Paris. He nearly made it count, winning the first two sets before falling in five to Ivan Lendl by a score of 7-5 in both the fourth and fifth sets.
Ivan Lendl – 1986
Lendl was dominant in 1986, falling one victory shy of sweeping the three Slams held that year (the Australian Open moved from December 1985 to January 1987 and thus not played in 1986). He cruised through the French Open, surrendering just one set, in a tiebreak to Andres Gomez in the quarterfinals, and did the same at the US Open, again dropping his only frame in the quarterfinals to Henri Leconte. But as Connors and McEnroe never won the French Open, Lendl never won Wimbledon. In 1986, though, he fought his way to the final behind five-set victories over Slobodan Zivojinovic and Tim Mayotte before running out of gas against defending champion Boris Becker in the title match.
Mats Wilander – 1988
In 1988, Wilander became the first player since Connors in 1974 to win three majors in a season, behind victories at the Australian Open, French Open and US Open. It was an eventful run for the steady Swede, who won back-to-back five-setters over Stefan Edberg and Pat Cash, respectively, to take the title in Australia and conquered Lendl in a five-set thriller at the US Open that ran 4 hours and 54 minutes--at the time the longest US Open final in the Open era. In between, Wilander was his usually imperturbable self in claiming his third French Open crown. In the end, Wilander was denied the calendar Slam by the Big Cat, Miloslav Mecir, who defeated him in straight sets in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Interestingly, Wilander never won another major after his greatest season.
Roger Federer – 2006
It is difficult to pick the best Slam season for the Maestro, who took three of the four Slams in 2004, 2006 and 2007 (plus two in 2005), an unprecedented run. Federer won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open and lost in the French Open final in 2006 and 2007, but it was 2006 that he was at his most dominant. He dropped just a single set at Wimbledon and only two at the US Open, and while his Australian Open wasn’t brilliant, it proved a showcase for Federer’s most underrated quality – his will to win – with a five-set victory over Tommy Haas in the fourth round and four-set triumphs in each of the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. His 2006 also marked the closest Fed would come to the calendar Slam; he started brilliantly in the French Open final but fell shy against Rafael Nadal, losing his lone major final of the year, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6.
Rafael Nadal – 2010
Nadal’s loss to Andy Murray in the Australian Open quarterfinals, when he was injured in the third set and forced to retire, put an early end to the Grand Slam conversation in 2010. But after that Rafa was positively dominant, becoming the first player since Laver to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open consecutively. He prevailed at Roland Garros without dropping a set, overcame back-to-back early five-setters at Wimbledon to claim his second title at the All England Club and rolled into the US Open final without a set surrendered, winning the first of his four championships in New York with a four-set victory over Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic – 2015
It seems destined that we will remember 2021 as the finest Grand Slam campaign of Djokovic’s Hall of Fame career, but as it currently stands, 2015 is the standard bearer, outshining even his brilliant 2011, when he also captured three of the four majors. The 20-time major champion powered into the 2015 Australian Open semifinals before being pushed to five sets in the semifinals by Stan Wawrinka and four sets in the final by Murray. But he demonstrated his resolve on both occasions, winning the deciding set at love. At Wimbledon, he rebounded from a two-set deficit in the fourth round against Kevin Anderson en route to the title, and he added the US Open crown later that summer, topping Federer in four sets in both championship matches. But like so many before him, Djokovic’s undoing would prove to be Roland Garros, where he finally defeated Nadal (in the quarterfinals) but was stunned in the final by a red-hot Wawrinka.
