Novak Djokovic's rise to the top of tennis

Can I tell you what one of the hardest things about covering you is? People understand big muscles and speed and grace. Mental strength, which is what I think is your great gift, is much harder to articulate. I would have to correct you. I have to correct you. It's not a gift. It's something that you have to produce. You have to create. It's something that comes with work. This week on 60 Minutes, we profile Novak Djokovic, who in 2023 laid to rest any debate about who the greatest tennis player in the history of the men's game is. I was covering tennis for Sports Illustrated and first crossed paths with Novak Djokovic in 2006. Nobody said, oh, this guy's going to go win 24 majors and counting and reset all the records and surpass Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, who preceded him. But I found one line I wrote in Sports Illustrated when he was, I think, 19. It said, Novak Djokovic, a future top five player. Djokovic won the Australian Open in 2008, and we all sort of said, ah, maybe this is going to be a three-way race now. And then in 2011, it was Novak's year. What Novak Djokovic achieved is one of the all-time great seasons in tennis history. He won three of the four majors, interrupts this Federer-Nadal axis, and nobody predicted this. Do you know at what moment you figured, I can be up there with these guys? 2008 Australian Open, my first Grand Slam title. And 60 Minutes producer Dragan Mihaljevic and correspondent Bob Simon go to Serbia at the end of 2011. Nadal says that your year will be impossible to repeat. What do you think when you hear something like that? Nothing is impossible. I will aim for same year with another trophy. Why not be confident? I mean, it doesn't make sense of being anything else but confident. What does it feel like? I mean, you're 24 years old, and you might just have passed the high point of your life. I think everything happens for a reason in life. So as long as I have that heart that leads me in the game, that desire to win, the love for the game, I will be in tennis. I will be many more years to come in tennis, as long as I have that. I don't have my expiry date. I don't have my limit when I want to say, OK, I'm going to play up to that age, and then I'll stop. Approximately, I probably know what is the length of the career of one professional tennis player. But... How long is it? With the schedule that we have nowadays, it's under 30. But usually around 30, 32, I guess. Novak Djokovic did not imagine that at age 36, he would not only still be playing, but would be playing at a level commensurate with 2011. And still winning three majors of the four majors, and still finishing the year ranked number one. Sat down with 60 Minutes 12 years ago. That was 20 majors ago. How does 36-year-old Novak do against that 24-year-old Novak? I think the 36 would win. It would be a tight match. But I think mentally, I'm stronger now than I was 10 years ago. That the confidence, accumulated wisdom... I was faster 10 years ago. But I think I'm probably able to play smarter today. And I'm also able to cope with the pressure moments better than I did 10 years ago. He's up to 24 majors. And he's won three of the last four. And he's number one in the world. And no one seems to have his number. I mean, impenetrable defense, but he also has a really offensive player. His gifts are really of constitution, and confidence, and self-belief. A few years ago, we talked about writing. And you were journaling. You still have a pen in your hand? You're still journaling? Yeah. I try to write on the paper with a pen as much as I can. Because there's something about it, that ritual, where you're emotionally cleansing, I think, as well, when you're doing that. And spending some quality time with yourself, with your thoughts. I think it serves you well. And you look at how he plays when the pressure is at its highest, and what he can summon when he has to. And it's harder to see with the naked eye. It's harder to describe. There are no analytics. It's very hard to pull statistics on this. But the guy on the other side of the net sure knows it. He's the best mental player, I think, in the history of men's tennis. One fluke injury could change the whole scenario. But right now, the guy's number one in the world. Could he play four more years? Five more years? Absolutely. Maybe the moment will become closer once I start not to win the Grand Slams, and not to be able to be one of the main contenders for major titles. And once the young guys start kicking my butt, then I'll probably start to rethink and question whether I should keep going. But for now, it's all good.