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Not many things have eluded tennis great Novak Djokovic across the course of his glittering career.
However, winning a calendar year Grand Slam is one of them – but the 23-time major champion can move one step closer to the feat with victory over Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final later today.
But what exactly is the calendar year Grand Slam in tennis that Djokovic is so desperate to get his hands on?
Here is everything you need to know.
What is a Grand Slam in tennis?
The Grand Slam is the achievement of winning all four of the majors in the same calendar year.
The four major tennis tournaments are the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
Perhaps somewhat confusingly to causal tennis fans, the majors are also referred to as Grand Slams.
How many players have won a Grand Slam?
Only five players across six different occasions in the history of tennis have won a calendar year Grand Slam.
American Don Budge was the first player to do so back in 1938, followed by Maureen Connolly in 1953.
Australian legend Ron Laver is the only player to have won two calendar year Grand Slams, achieving the feat in 1962 and 1969.
Laver’s triumph in 1969 saw him become the first player to win the Grand Slam in the Open Era, which began in 1968.
Margaret Court won all four tournaments in 1970 whilst Steffi Graf added her name to the illustrious list in 1988.
Djokovic was one game away from winning the Grand Slam in 2021, only to lose in the final of the US Open against Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.
What is a non-calendar-year Grand Slam?
This is regarded as winning all four major championships consecutively but not within the same calendar year.
Djokovic held all four of the majors at the same time with victories at Wimbledon 2015, US Open 2015, Australian Open 2016 and the French Open 2016.
Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova have also achieved the non-calendar-year Grand Slam.
What is a Career Grand Slam?
The Career Grand Slam is referred to as winning all of the majors at any point across the course of a player’s career.
Djokovic is also the only male player to have won a triple Career Grand Slam by winning each of the majors at least three times.
Andre Agassi, Graf, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are the only singles players to have won the Golden Grand Slam, which is having won all of the majors as well as the Olympic gold medal.
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