Novak Djokovic is just two games away at the US Open from making double history. First, because in the case of winning the title he would become the first tennis player to win 21 Grand Slam, breaking the tie with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. And second because He would become the first player on the men's circuit to win all four Grand Slams in the same year since Rod Laver did it in 1969., something that only Laver himself achieved in 1962 and Don Budge in 1938 (in women's tennis it was achieved by Maureen Connolly in 1953, Margaret Court in 1970 and Steffi Graf in 1988).
In fact, in recent days there has been a curious comparison between Djokovic and Laver and the way they both have had to win their matches at the Grand Slam. And it is that in the 26 games that Novak Djokovic has used so far on his way to complete the feat, the Serbian lost the first set nine times, including in the last three games. For his part Laver lost the first set in 7 of the 26 matches he played to win his second full Grand Slam in 1969. A tactic the Serbian could repeat to emulate the Australian's milestone 52 years later.
His third best Grand Slam streak
The victory over Berrettini also allows Djokovic to match his third-best consecutive winning streak in Grand Slam matches. with 26 consecutive Grand Slam wins since his first-round win at the 2021 Australian Open.
The Serbian has the best streak in history at the Grand Slam with 30 consecutive wins between Wimbledon 2015 and Wimbledon 2016, when Sam Querrey beat him in the third round. The Serbian has also racked up a 27-win streak between Wimbledon in 2011 and the 2012 Roland Garros final, where he lost to Rafa Nadal.
With this Thursday's victory, Djokovic equals the 26-win streak he chained between Wimbledon in 2018 and the semi-finals of Roland Garros in 2019., when he lost to Thiem. A streak that he hopes to increase to 28 to achieve victory at the US Open and that, if achieved, he hopes to further expand at the 2022 Australian Open.