(New York) The defeat against Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final where he was undefeated in four editions could mark the beginning of the end for Novak Djokovic. But he showed at the US Open that he was still the man to beat and he assured that he intended to stay that way for a while longer.
The question of his decline also has the gift of exasperating the 36-year-old Serbian, who regains his place as world number one this Monday: “People like to talk. Everyone has their own opinion and I don’t care what anyone says, whether it’s about the passing of the torch, the new generation, the next generation, the future generation, whatever they call it.” he says.
A few centimeters from his hand sits the US Open trophy, which he won for the fourth time. Its 24e Grand Slam title, absolute record.
Among his swarm of records, he still established a particularly notable one during the New York fortnight: he is in fact beginning his 390e week at the top of the ATP rankings, dethroning his young and main rival Carlos Alcaraz.
“It’s very good that Alcaraz is here, that there is a rivalry between us,” assures the Serbian, listing all the qualities of the Spaniard, player and man.
Wimbledon regret
“But at the end of the day, my goal remains the same at the start of a season: to try to win every Grand Slam tournament. So I have a little regret of not having won this final at Wimbledon (in July) but in reality I have so much more to look forward to… So I will continue,” he promises.
In 2023, in fact, he achieved an exceptional season which can be summed up in one statistic, as often in his case, a record: he became the only player to have won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments four times in the same season. (2011, 2015, 2021, 2023). And he played the final four again. But he is still missing the calendar Grand Slam, the Holy Grail of tennis.
PHOTO ANGELA WEISS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Novak Djokovic
So, now that Federer is retired and Nadal is in early retirement, Medvedev’s first reaction to his winner and the public at Flushing Meadows must sum up, with the Russian’s humor, what many players on the tour think: “But what Are you still there? “, he said.
Djokovic admits that he sometimes asks himself questions about his future, if he “still needs this”, or even “how long (he) intends to continue”.
“But as long as I am able to play at such a high level, and win the main tournaments, I don’t want to leave this sport,” he insists.
“Great seat”
His trainer Goran Ivanisevic, even if he is regularly the target of Nole’s angry lightning, is more and more admiring.
“He’s still hungry, he’s still breaking records, he’s playing incredible tennis. It’s great to watch it from the stands: I have a very good seat and I’m having a blast,” assures the former world No.2, winner of Wimbledon in 2001.
“If I wasn’t so close to him, if I didn’t see him doing it every day, I might be surprised (by his results). But here, I’m not. He loves what he does, he loves challenges. If he wins a 25e Grand Slam title, he will say to himself “and why not 26?” He always wants more,” says the coach.
“We don’t laugh when we talk about statistics. He takes them very seriously, he always finds something else to succeed in,” adds Ivanisevic.
Because one of Djokovic’s main qualities is to be a “winner” capable of self-motivation.
So the coach dropped a scoop, to be taken seriously: “He intends to play until the Olympic Games in Los Angeles (in 2028)! »
The person also jokes about his future: “One day, in 23 or 24 years, I will leave the circuit (laughs) and there will be new players,” he says, before adding: “But from here There, I think you will continue to see me.”
