Novak Djokovic told the one word that connects him to Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors

Jimmy Connors has highlighted one key word that links him with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Between the trio, they won a remarkable 52 Grand Slams. Djokovic leads the way with 24 majors, and his 428 weeks at No 1 will take some stopping.

The Serbian finished year-end No 1 on eight occasions, with Federer and Connors both posting a very respectable five of their own. The Swiss and American spent 310 weeks and 268 weeks respectively atop the rankings and were renowned for their longevity.

Much was made of Connors‘ US Open semi-final run in 1991 at the age of 39, and Federer won three Grand Slams at 35 and over. But Djokovic reached four major semi-finals last year and can beat the very best of this generation as he ticks closer to 40.

All three were quite different players, but eight-time major winner Connors – who holds the Open Era record on 109 trophies, with Federer back on 103 and Djokovic on 102 – thinks their “consistency” is one thing that links them together.

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Following Djokovic’s China Open win, where he beat Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Alex De Minaur on his way to the title in September, Connors waxed lyrical about the veteran’s fighting qualities.

When it was put to him about the Federer and Djokovic longevity comparisons, he said on Advantage Connors, “Consistency! Walking out on the court knowing that you got to give it everything you have.

“The way he [Djokovic] treats his job, the way Federer treated his job, the way I treated my job, the way the champions treat their work and go for the pride every time they walk out there, they say they’re going to give it everything they have, no matter what, win or lose. That’s why they win because, you know, s***, cause they do give it everything.”

Ken Rosewall is still the oldest men’s Grand Slam singles champion in the Open Era, having won the 1972 Australian Open at the age of 37. Incidentally, Rafael Nadal won two majors over the age of 35 and finished year-end No 1 on five occasions.

Djokovic won three of the four majors in 2023 when he was 35 and 36, but for now, the Australian still holds that record. And going forward, Connors hopes he and others can still serve as motivation for elder statesmen to keep playing when many others would have retired.

He added, “When I played Ken Rosewall in the finals of Wimbledon and in the US Open, my push to try to play longer and to try to stay in shape and to try to be at a certain level, that came from Ken Rosewall.

“I hope those champions from Federer to Djokovic and whoever plays to that age can look back, past me even, and say, ‘Well, Connors played till he was 39, but Rosewall played till he was 39 and that’s 52 years ago’, but I am going to say that is a certain class.

“Pancho Gonzalez, maybe Pancho Segura… very few have played into their late thirties and maybe even forties. That’s a very special class to be a part of.”

Djokovic will aim to win his 103rd title at this week’s Basel Open, where he is now into the second round.

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