Novak Djokovic denies claims of 'Jealousy' towards Federer, Nadal winning more Grand Slams

Novak Djokovic has come a long way since winning his first Grand Slam title at the 2008 Australian Open. The Serbian champion has now won a massive 17 Grand Slams and a record 36 ATP Masters 1000 trophies. At the Australian Open 2021, Djokovic will be eyeing another spate of records at the tournament, including a chance to dethrone Roger Federer from a record he has held for years and the possibility of coming close to one of Rafael Nadal's most dominant records. Here's what the World No.1 had to say about all that he has achieved through his career and where he wants to go next.

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Australian Open 2021: Djokovic satisfied with his own records

After taking down France's Jeremy Chardy in Round 1 and battling it out with American Francis Tiafoe, top seed Novak Djokovic will play No.27, Taylor Fritz in Round 3. The eight-time Australian Open champion is aiming for an even bigger page in the history books as he aims to become just the second man in history to win at least nine of the same Slams - the first of course, is Rafael Nadal with 13 French Open titles. Djokovic will also be looking at securing his 18th Slam and inch closer to Federer and Nadal's haul of 20 each.

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However, one of the biggest records on offer is one of Roger Federer's. The 33-year-old is set to break Roger Federer's old record for most weeks spent at the top of the ATP Rankings. As of March 8, Djokovic will have banked 311 weeks (cumulative) as the Men's No.1, beating out Federer's record of 310 weeks. “I have been very transparent about the fact that one of my biggest goals is to try to reach the No.1 all-time weeks record, and I'm getting closer and closer to that one,” Djokovic said during a press interaction last week. 

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The Serb also clarified that he was in no way "jealous" of the success that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have achieved through their careers. “I respect all of my opponents' records,” Djokovic said, “They are legends of our sport, and I admire them a lot". Having had to work harder than most to break the duo's dominant hold on men's tennis in the early 2010s, Djokovic credited the pair for some of his success. "They have positively affected my game and my growth, my development and all my success wouldn't be what it is if these two guys were not there".

However, in the end, Djokovic is satisfied with where is in his career. “I don't want any of their success, if you know what I mean. I'm not jealous of their success or anything like that. I try to build my own career and my own success” he clarified. 

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Image Credits: Australian Open Twitter