Novak Djokovic determined to be amongst tennis greats, says Leif Shiras
Saturday 15 August 2015 00:27, UK
Novak Djokovic won't be continuing to lose many more Grand Slam finals after making massive improvements to his game, says Leif Shiras.
The world No 1 is a nine-time major winner with five Australian titles, three Wimbledon crowns and the 2011 US Open to his name, but the 28-year-old has also lost in eight finals during his career.
He is a four-time losing finalist at Flushing Meadows as well as three occasions at Roland Garros and once at Wimbledon.
If the Serb had won four of those eight, he would be up to 13 - just one behind Rafa Nadal and only four behind Roger Federer.
Asked if there would be a tinge of regret at the end of his career having failed to capitalise when reaching Slam finals, Sky Sports tennis expert Shiras said: "I think there will be a little of that. He has that kind of record where questions are inevitable.
"(Ivan) Lendl did not have a great record in Slam finals either and he was accumulating plenty of titles, but also coming up a little short that could have pushed him into a different stratosphere.
"I think this is why Novak works so hard - he wants all that - he wants to be in amongst the games greats in terms of Grand Slam titles, so I have a feeling he won't be losing many more.
"He continues to add to his game, he improves and he has aspirations. I don't think he's going anywhere. He loves this just like Federer has loved it - he has that same passion that Roger, that Rafa and Andy (Murray) have for the game and that passion is what drives him.
"I think he reminds himself of that record every day."
I think this is why Novak works so hard - he wants all that - he wants to be in amongst the games greats in terms of Grand Slam titles, so I have a feeling he won't be losing many more.
Barry Cowan added: "If you put that into context, it's not as if he lost to second tear players. It's not as if he's got to a final and lost to a player ranked 10, 11 or 12.
"He's lost to Murray, Nadal, Federer and (Stan) Wawrinka at the French which was obviously a huge opportunity."
Beneficial for Murray
Murray has a 2-6 record in Grand Slam finals and between the two of them they've lost a total of 14 finals, but they have come up against the best players in the world every time and Cowan said: "Twelve or 13 years ago Murray would have won six majors already in his career."
Cowan also believes it may be beneficial for Murray to take on Djokovic either in Montreal or in Cincinnati if he is to have a realistic chance of beating him at the US Open.
The alarming statistic since his 2012 US Open final success is that the Scot has played Djokovic 12 times and has only beaten him just the once which was the Wimbledon final two years ago.
And Cowan feels Murray must find something different to ruffle the Serb's feathers in order to finally overcome him in major competitions.
"They play very similar styles and even in those matches that Andy has lost, so often when they have to long gruelling matches, it can come down to the mental aspect.
"The fact that Novak has beaten Andy as many times over the last couple of years - he has that edge. That's not to say that Andy can't beat him once in the next couple of weeks.
"Realistically to go and play him in a Grand Slam, which would be in a final if the seedings pan out, then I think it would definitely benefit Andy if he did play him and try and find a way to way to unsettle Novak."
Realistically to go and play him in a Grand Slam, which would be in a final if the seedings pan out, then I think it would definitely benefit Andy if he did play him and try and find a way to way to unsettle Novak.
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