Zooming ahead in Slam race

Djokovic, who won a record 23rd Major on Sunday, overcame early setbacks to go past his star rivals Nadal and Federer

- Rutvick Mehta

MUMBAI: When Novak Djokovic wrapped his hands around a Grand Slam trophy for the first time at the 2008 Australian Open, Roger Federer was already 12-time champion. Pete Sampras's all-time men's Slam record of 14, although under genuine threat from the sublime Swiss, still stood tall.

Twenty-three seemed a long way off then. For anybody. Certainly so for the man who got there on Sunday by winning the French Open.

For good reason too. It took three years and 13 attempts for Djokovic to finally get hold of a Grand Slam after his debut at that stage, and another two years and 12 attempts for the next. His physical issues often flared up in Slams; save the 2008 season, he had one mid-match retirement every year in a Slam between 2005 and 2009. He would lose more than win against Federer, then the king-in-command, and Rafael Nadal, then the prince-inwaiting.

Essentially a two-horse race, Federer was on 16 Slams and Nadal on nine at the start of the 2011 season. Then the third of the trio bolted, and against odds of all types and kinds, whizzed past the pace-setting duo.

Djokovic's incredible upswing intensified with two blocks of dominance. The Serb won four of the five Slams between the 2011 and 2012 Australian Open, notching up a memorable 41-match unbeaten run in 2011. His 2015-2016 reign was even better, winning five of the first ams while only losing the 2015 French Open final to Stan Wawrinka.

However, it's the sustained soar to follow a commanding peak that has truly set him free, and apart from his Big Three colleagues, in scaling the statistical summit of greatness.