Some numbers never leave you.
That’s definitely the case in sports. Like Joe DiMaggio’s wondrous 56-game hitting streak. Gymnast Nadia Comăneci’s perfect 10, a mark that seemed unattainable before the Montreal Olympic Games of 1976. Tom Brady’s unmatched six Super Bowl rings. Or that historic night in Hershey, Pa., when a lanky Wilt Chamberlain dropped 100 on the New York Knicks.
The April 15, 1974 cover of Sports Illustrated featured just three digits, 715, celebrating new home run king Hank Aaron’s most Ruthian of feats.
When it comes to tennis, no number is more exalted than 24. That’s the benchmark for major singles titles, set by Aussie Margaret Court in 1973, when the powerful serve-and-volleyer won three of the four majors to further distance herself from American Helen Wills and her 19 Grand Slams.
It’s the sport’s Holy Grail, even if it spanned the pre-Open Era (before 1968) and Open Era. It’s a number that surely occupied the thoughts of Hall of Famer Steffi Graf, though the German denied such after capturing her 22nd, and last, major trophy at the US Open in 1996.
“Twenty-four? No, it doesn’t matter to me,” she insisted.
Serena Williams made no bones about her affinity for 24. While amassing an Open Era-best 23 Grand Slam singles titles, she made it clear that Court was in her sights all along. She did her best to match (and surpass) the long-standing record, now a half-century old. But Williams, who ‘evolved’ away from the sport following a third-round exit at the 2022 US Open, came up short in the last four (and six of the last eight) major finals of her career. There’s a reason the emotions ran so high in that 2018 loss (6-2, 6-4) to Naomi Osaka in New York, and that 2019 defeat (6-3, 7-5) at the hands of Bianca Andreescu in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that record,” rued Williams upon announcing her retirement in the August 2022 issue of Vogue.
For many observers, Williams had long been the GOAT, regardless of her bottom-line tally, maybe even before she eclipsed Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert with her 19th title. But that’s just the way elite trophy-chasers like Williams are built. They know how the record books work. They don’t want to leave any doubt as to their legacy when they put the racquet down.
The same could be said of current men’s pacesetter Novak Djokovic, who pulled even with Williams when he bagged his 23rd Slam at Roland Garros in June. He’s long been up front about his desire to make history, and it’s getting harder to ignore Djokovic’s statistical edge over career-long rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal: His ‘big title’ exploits spread across the board, from Grand Slams to ATP Masters 1000s (39) to Nitto ATP Finals (six), not to mention his record 389 overall weeks at No. 1.
After falling to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final this summer, he returns to the US Open for the first time since 2021 with another opportunity to match Court and her all-time record.
“They’re just numbers at the end of the day,” deflected Djokovic earlier this year.
Maybe he’s right, but those numbers certainly carry a lot of weight. The last time Djokovic took the court in Flushing Meadows, he was a perfect 27-for-27 at the majors on the year, but a single win away from the coveted calendar-year Grand Slam, a feat last accomplished by Rod Laver the year Jimi Hendrix reimagined The "Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock and man first walked on the Moon (1969).
The moment (and the hard-court prowess of one Daniil Medvedev) would prove too much for him that afternoon in a straight-sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat.
The pressure will be there again in 2023. The question is, how will he respond?
“Ambition is always the highest for me, always to win the title. It’s not changing regardless of my place in the history books,” said Djokovic, 36. “Maybe some people think that it was a huge relief for me winning Roland Garros, being the only men’s tennis player with 23 Slams. It’s not. The pressure is there. It’s still very high. I still feel goosebumps and butterflies and nerves coming into every single match.”
Yes, even the rock-solid Serb, two decades into a positively prolific professional tennis career that may go down as the greatest ever, still battles the nerves.
I was kind of known as calm and cool out there,” said the Hall of Famer Evert, known in her playing days as the ‘Ice Maiden.' “But I would get paralyzed at times with the pressure. You don’t want people to see you reacting like this, but Novak is a human being and as mentally tough as he is, the human factor does enter into it. We don’t always factor in the human element of feeling tight, feeling nervous, choking, being paralyzed, not being able to move.
"That’s what pressure does to you. Every person has to overcome it themselves. They have to find out what works for them.”
“It’s key that you know yourself, what makes you tick, and that you sort of embrace that and hopefully use that to your advantage,” said Evert’s ESPN boothmate John McEnroe. “Nothing can replicate getting out in front of a lot of people in a big match. It’s super exciting, but it’s something that you have to go through. Some people lay an egg; others can rise to the occasion.”
Djokovic sure rose to the occasion earlier this month in the Western & Southern Open final, saving a match point to avenge his loss to Alcaraz at the All England Club, winning, 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4), over the surging Spaniard.
“I think this feeds into Novak’s strengths in his game and in his life, the mental aspect, the mental toughness,” said Evert, a record six-time US Open titlist. “In Cincinnati, I thought he was out of the match after eight games. But he came back, he found that next level, he found the conditioning, he figured it out. If he gets into the situation where he’s in the final again, it could be a different story. I think having lost Wimbledon will help him because he learns from his mistakes, he learns from his drawbacks. I think he’s going to be more ready this time.”
Just numbers? No, Djokovic will be chasing far more than that. He’ll be chasing history.
