It would be very hard to say that anyone but Novak Djokovic is the king of tennis at the moment. However, fresh off wrapping-up a record-tying sixth Australian Open and French Open title away from the career Grand Slam, and Djoker Slam, the world number one is not about to claimed supremacy over all surfaces just yet. According the Djokovic, the old King of Clay still owns that crown.
Respecting Rafa
Despite having finally defeated Rafael Nadal at the French Open in 2015, Djokovic, who went on to lose in the final to Stan Wawrinka, still insists that the nine-time French Open champion, who failed to win a title during the European clay court season last year, is still the King of Clay.
"Absolutely. You would be disrespectful to everything he has achieved in his career on clay courts if we didn't see him this year - and each year - as the ultimate challenge on clay courts” said Djokovic of his rival.
Despite Nadal’s recent struggles, Djokovic points to the Spaniards unmatched accomplishments on the red dirt. "Everybody knows he is the king of clay. He's achieved so much on that surface. He's made history. He's won the French Open nine times. So, yeah, it's definitely going to be interesting to see how everything unfolds on that surface.”
The Missing Crown
The French Open remains the lone major title that eludes Novak Djokovic. He has lost to Nadal six times at Roland Garros, including the 2012 and 2014 finals. Their 2013 semifinal, won by Nadal, is considered to be the greatest clay court tennis match in history, and one of the greatest matches ever.
However, Djokovic has won four of their last six meetings on clay, including the quarterfinals of the French Open last year, when Djokovic ended Nadal’s five-year run in Paris. Djokovic has won all three clay court Masters 1000 events at least once, defeating Nadal for the title at least once at all three.
Should Djokovic win the French Open, he would become the eighth man in history to complete the career Grand Slam. He would also become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously. It would give him twelve major titles overall, two short of Nadal on the all-time list.