Make mine a double! Can relentless NIvak Djokovic seal his place in history with a second sweep of Slams? The possibility of a second ‘Novak Slam’ begins at the French Open this week Main obstacle to Djokovic at Roland Garros is 11-times champion Rafael Nadal The 32-year-old has a relatively modest 23- 5 overall match record this season By Mike Dickson for The Mail on Sunday Published: 21:36 BST, 25 May 2019 | Updated: 21:36 BST, 25 May 2019 Viewcomments To have held all four Grand Slams at once in the era of Nadal and Federer — not to mention Murray — is remarkable enough. For Novak Djokovic to achieve that twice would be truly ‘extraordinaire’, as they say in these parts. Just turned 32, this is what the Serb is attempting again over the next fortnight, a year after he stormed off court following a quarter-final defeat and questioned whether he would even attempt to play during the ensuing grass-court season. The main obstacle to Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros is 11-times champion Rafael Nadal THE BIG THREE Last Wednesday Djokovic turned 32 and, comparing their achievements by that age, there is little to separate the Big Three. Coming into Roland Garros, Federer is still clear on 20 Slams but Nadal, on 17, will fancy his chances of closing that gap starting this fortnight. Djokovic may be five behind the Swiss but he has time on his side and has won the last three majors in a row. The battle to decide the best player ever is well and truly on. History now records that the possibility of a second ‘Novak Slam’ owes itself to that epic, two-day semi-final at Wimbledon last summer, when he edged out Rafael Nadal 10-8 in a deciding set. It was that match which truly made him believe again and here we are considering whether he can repeat what he managed in 2015-16 and string together another golden quartet. Naturally, the 11-times champion Nadal is the main obstacle and the two champions’ relative struggles in some of the big clay-court events leading in to Paris have been a mirage. Men’s tennis is currently in the slightly unhealthy situation that its greatest champions now regard the Masters level events as little more than preparatory exercises for the big fortnights. The possibility of a second ‘Novak Slam’ begins at the French Open in Paris this week The evidence is there in Djokovic’s relatively modest (by his standards) 23- 5 overall match record this season. The likes of the Madrid and Italian Opens, which he and Nadal split between them, are just small change compared to the big four events that really get them out of bed in the morning. Djokovic admitted as much, saying: ‘This is the tournament I was preparing for. Over the last couple of months I wanted to peak in this tournament and this is where I want to play my best tennis.’ It will not always be this way when the coming generation finally breaks through to dislodge them but it is understandable for the astonishing trio of these two and Roger Federer. Sooner or later their losses between the Majors will catch up with them, as increasingly appears to be the case with another great, Serena Williams. While Djokovic says he has ‘enough reason to believe I can do it again’, he points out that Nadal’s history in Paris still makes him the man to beat. ‘It wouldn’t be fair to pick anybody else but him as the main favourite, because he has won this tournament so many times,’ said Djokovic. ‘He has lost, what, two times in his career on Parisian clay?’ The 32-year-old has a relatively modest 23- 5 overall match record in tournaments this season That is a scary figure, although three times French champion Mats Wilander — working for Eurosport these two weeks — believes there are perhaps 20 players capable of causing an upset. ‘This year there are more guys that can worry the best players and there are more match ups I’m interested in seeing,’ he said. Over the best-of-five sets format, the realistic challengers still look thin on the ground. Federer is surely not going to do it at his age, while there are still questions against the two younger men most likely, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Thiem is in Djokovic’s half and thumped him here two years ago in straight sets but the Serb was going through a motivational crisis at the time after so much success. He has, in theory, the power to beat them, while Tsitsipas is fast developing the guile. Thiem could meet Britain’s Kyle Edmund in the third round but, on the form of the past two months, Cameron Norrie might be last British survivor. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility