Djokovic tries again for his 21st slam

Novak Djokovic has been here before, nipping at the heels of major title No. 21.

He had a chance at the U.S. Open last summer. Winning the men’s singles final against Daniil Medvedev would have been a signal moment in sports. Djokovic would have burst through the logjam he had shared with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal: 20 singles titles in majors, then the high-water mark in men’s tennis.

And Djokovic would have become the first male player since Rod Laver in 1969 to achieve a Grand Slam, capturing Wimbledon and the French, Australian and U.S. Open titles in the same year. It wasn’t to be.

And then he seemed destined to record his 21st victory in a Grand Slam event at this year’s Australian Open, the major where he has emerged victorious nine times. He makes playing in the Melbourne hothouse look like a stroll through a shady summer garden.

But we know what happened instead.

Djokovic was detained and then deported after a tense standoff over whether he should be allowed to compete in Australia despite having proudly refused to vaccinate against the coronavirus.

Point made and the moment lost by the Australian government and one of the world’s best-known anti-vaccine athletes.

With the French Open underway, Djokovic is, at long last, trying again for his 21st major win. By virtue of his No. 1 ranking, he is the top seed in the men’s draw. “I’m going to Paris with confidence and good feelings about my chances there,” he said before the tournament.

He said much the same the last two times he reached for the grail of 21 Grand Slam titles. But Nadal notched that historic record first, before Djokovic and Federer, when Nadal stepped back into the vaults of greatness and beat Medvedev at the Australian Open in jaw-dropping fashion.

Can Djokovic get out of the stall and tie Nadal? If he doesn’t do it soon, he may begin drawing comparisons to an equally talented, complex and perplexing champion: Serena Williams, who remains stuck one major behind Margaret Court’s record, 24.

Like Williams, who at 40 is not playing on the tour and may be heading toward retirement, Djokovic faces snarling pressure to keep up with his peers. It is not getting any easier. On Sunday, he turned 35. His window is closing — the ability to call on match-to-match consistency narrows with each grinding season.

Consider all that he has faced this year. Global anger over his determination to steer clear of vaccination. The hangover from the crushing loss in the final of the U.S. Open. The months when he looked like a meager facsimile of his old self on the court.

After Australia, he was barred from playing in two big hard-court tournaments — Indian Wells and Miami — because the United States wisely required foreign visitors to be vaccinated to enter the country. And then came a stretch of choppy, angst-riddled play, which we had not seen from him in years. There were early-round defeats to the 123rd- and 46th-ranked players in the world. Before adoring hometown fans, he struggled through the Serbia Open and crumbled in the finals. He fell in Madrid to 19-yearold Spanish upstart Carlos Alcaraz.

Can Djokovic win his 21st at the French Open? There was little hint he would be up to the task until this month in Rome, at the last big tuneup before Roland Garros.

At the Italian Open, it was all there again for Djokovic: lithe movement, deep and consistent returns, a pickpocket’s moxie during the tensest moments. Djokovic did not lose a set all tournament. In the final, where he defeated fourthranked Stefanos Tsitsipas, he took the opening set 6-0.

He looked back on Australia and the brutal aftermath in a news conference and spoke of how the experience would not bow him. Djokovic promised to turn the jagged pain of having been barred from play and the pressure he felt from the backlash to his favor. “It will fuel me,” he said, steely eyed, “for the next challenge.”

Such a mindset is as vintage Djokovic as his scythelike downthe-line backhand.

Left unmentioned was how he has been hailed a hero among the anti-vaccine crowd for his refusenik stance, a view that is impossible to fathom when the coronavirus has caused the death of at least 6 million people across the globe. He has even vowed that if it came between choosing whether to vaccinate or keep playing professional tennis, he would remain on the sideline.

His commitment to that stance is foolish, but his resistance offers a window into what makes Djokovic tick. Enduring stubbornness sets him apart more than his movement, consistency or dartlike accuracy.

Can Djokovic finally win No. 21? I won’t bet against a player so capable of conjuring unshakable magic.