Novak Djokovic cannot afford to trail Rafael Nadal in the Slam race at the end of the Australian Open – Mats Wilander

Seven-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander reckons Novak Djokovic cannot afford to trail Rafael Nadal in the Slam race at the end of the Australian Open. Nadal currently has the most Majors (22 titles) whereas Djokovic is hot on the heels of his arch-rivals with 21 Slams.

It has been a cat-and-mouse race between these two veterans for the most Slams. The Spaniard had won the 2022 Australian Open whereas Djokovic could not take part after his controversial deportation due to vaccination status.

Nadal then went on to win the French Open 2022, before beating Djokovic in the quarterfinal clash. On the other hand, Novak Djokovic clinched his 21st Major title when he won Wimbledon. Subsequently,Djokovic could not take part in the US Open due to the immigration rules of the country.

However, Djokovic will make his return to the 2023 Australian Open, where he has won nine titles and is fondly known as the King of Melbourne.

“The revenge he most probably wants will be winning in Melbourne. The race is back on. If he wins it. It’s 22-22 (Grand Slams tally with Nadal). He has got to get to 22 before the French Open comes in May because Rafa might grab another one. You cannot lose in Melbourne and be 21, and Rafa gets to 23,” Wilander said on Eurosport.

The former Swedish player reckons it will be ‘unbelievable’ if Djokovic goes on to win his 10th Australian Open crown as every player has a potent game on hard courts and he has faced tough competition throughout the years.

“I think that in today’s men’s professional tennis, a lot of them have grown up on clay, but on hard courts, they are all experts,” said Wilander. “I think that if you win 10 Australian Opens on hard courts, that means you have to beat maybe the best field in tennis because everybody knows how to play on hard courts. So I think that achievement would be unbelievable. Nine is already unbelievable.”

Wilander tipped the Serbian as the number-one favorite for the Happy Slam.

“I think Novak is the number one favourite for many, many reasons. I mean, obviously, one reason is that he’s won the Australian Open nine times. The surface is perfect for him,” Wilander said.

The Australian Open will kick off on January 16.