Tennis

Novak Djokovic reiterates his 'goal' to take two Roger Federer records in 2020


Novak Djokovic says his three main goals for this season are to become the all-time leader for weeks at world No 1, win a gold medal at the Olympics and challenging for Grand Slams.

Djokovic demonstrated why he is the best player in the world earlier this month when he won the Australian Open for the eighth time.

The Serbian is now on 17 Grand Slams, two behind Rafael Nadal and three off the record held by Roger Federer.

Victory in Melbourne also saw Djokovic return to the top of the world rankings and he is now just seven weeks behind second-placed Pete Sampras (286).

If he is still top of the rankings by October 5, he would overtake Federer’s record of 310 weeks.

And in July, Djokovic will travel to Japan for the Tokyo Olympics and hope to finally capture what has so been an elusive gold medal.

Speaking at the Dubai Championship after beating Malek Jaziri in the first round, Djokovic was asked if he had eyes on Jimmy Connors’ record of 109 career titles.

Djokovic currently owns 78 titles to his name and insisted that his sights were set on other milestones.

“Yes, of course, I am aware that. That’s not one of the highest goals, to be honest,” he said.

“I’ve mentioned it: the highest goal for this season is to hold on to the No. 1 spot, the Olympics and the grand slams. I think every next season that I play – hopefully I still want to play and still like to compete – grand slams will be right up there.

“The [most] titles won, I guess, will come I guess hopefully as a consequence of high performance and winning tournaments.”

On Tuesday, Djokovic is in doubles action with Marin Cilic before playing veteran German Philipp Kohlschreiber on Wednesday.

Kohlschreiber stunned Djokovic at Indian Wells last year but the Serbian still holds a healthy 11-2 winning record.

Nevertheless, the 17-time Grand Slam champion says he won’t be taking Kohlschreiber lightly.

He said: “I lost to him in straight sets in Indian Wells last year.

“I am aware of what he’s capable of. He likes actually playing top players on a big stage.

“He has lots of experience. He’s very fit and keeps on playing even at that age on a high level. I certainly will not underestimate him.

“I will prepare myself. I’m feeling good on the court and hopefully that can continue in the next match.”



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