Andy Roddick believes Novak Djokovic has a "realistic shot" of matching Roger Federer's all-time record of 17 Grand Slam singles titles, but the Serb should consider all majors as a "must win."
Djokovic got closer to Federer's 17 majors after winning the Australian Open and French Open this season. With 12 Grand Slam singles titles in his record, Roddick, who won his lone Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2013, believes Djokovic could close in on the Swiss Maestro, but only if he could keep a winning mentality at every major.
Djokovic started the season on the right path completing his first non-calendar career Grand Slam after defeating world No. 2 Andy Murray for the title at Roland Garros. But after winning his first French Open title, the Belgrade native suffered disappointing losses at the big stages, most recently at the US Open, where he got beaten by Stan Wawrinka in the final round.
"To be honest I am looking forward to finding the freshness and peace of mind of enjoying sport and enjoying being on the tennis court,"Djokovic told Sky Sports about competing at the remaining events of the season. "Somehow I lost it along the way after Paris and the French Open. I felt that over the last couple of months it was difficult for me to re-engage myself."
Djokovic will defend four titles leading up to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in November. Djokovic's next tournament will be on Oct. 3 at the China Open, where the 12-time Grand Slam winner will attempt to continue his untainted match record of 29-0 and aim for a seventh Beijing title at the tournament. Djokovic defeated career rival Rafael Nadal in last year's edition of the China Open.
He will then compete at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, a tournament Djokovic won three times, including last year's event, where he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final round. Djokovic is also set to compete at the BNP Paribas Open in Paris before he heads to the Tour finale in London, with hopes of winning a record-tying sixth title at the event.