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Following his US Open title win, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic offered a massive update on his future, saying that he has no intentions of leaving the sport while he is still at the top and that he does not have in his mind the specific number of Grand Slams that he has to win in his career.
Djokovic levelled with Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles after securing the US Open title, beating Russia's Daniil Medvedev in an extremely fatiguing final in New York on Sunday night. "These are the moments and these are the kind of emotions that I motivate myself with every single day when I am not playing a tournament. Yeah, occasionally [I am] asking myself, Why do I need this still at this stage after all I have done? How long do I want to keep going?, Djokovic was quoted by ATP. "I do have these questions in my head, of course. But knowing that I play at such a high level still and I win the biggest tournaments in this sport, I do not want to get rid of this sport or I do not want to leave this sport if I am still at the top, if I am still playing the way I am playing." "Eventually one day I will leave tennis in about 23, 24 years. And there are going to be new young players coming up. Until then, I guess you will see me a bit more," concluded Djokovic while cracking a smile. Djokovic now has 24 Grand Slams and needs just one more to become the player with the most Grand Slam titles in history, but he was not thinking about the numbers, rankings and titles so intensely until three years back. "To be honest with you, I was probably not thinking so intensely and concretely about the history of the weeks at No. 1 or most Slams until maybe three years ago," said Djokovic, who on Monday starts a record-extending 390th week at the top of ATP Rankings. "Then I realised, 'Okay, I am quite close for weeks in No. 1. I also have a pretty good chance at the Grand Slams if I keep healthy and if I am playing well.' Of course, the Slams at that point seemed a little bit less reachable than weeks of No. 1, but I believed. I believed that I will make it." "I do not put any number right now in my mind on how many Slams I want to win until the end of my career. I do not really have any number," he concluded. Djokovic said that for the past 48 hours, he tried his best to not get overwhelmed by the enormous nature of the history he was going to make, because the last time it happened, he underperformed at the US Open finals 2021, losing to Medvedev. "I really did my best in the last 48 hours not to allow the importance of the moment and what's on the line get to my head, because two years ago that's what happened, and I underperformed and I was not able to be at my best and I was outplayed. So I learned my lesson. My team, my family knew that the last 24 hours, do not touch me, do not speak to me about the history of what is on the line," he said. "I really did my best to keep things quite simple and stick to the routines that brought me to where I am and treat this match really as any other match where I just need to win," he added. The second set was an extremely tiring one. It lasted 104 minutes and at one point, there was a 31-shot rally that saw Djokovic fall down due to fatigue. Djokovic considers this set up there with the toughest ones ever. "I do not think I have ever played a longer set in my life, particularly not on this occasion against a top player like Daniil. I think he was probably a better player in the second set. He deserved to win that set more than I did. Somehow I managed to turn things around in the tie-break. When it mattered I put one ball into play more than he did. And that was enough," he said. Djokovic added: "Honestly, in the second I felt like I was losing air on so many occasions, and my legs, as well. I do not recall being so exhausted after rallies really as I have been in the second set." One of Djokovic's biggest aspirations was to play and win at the highest level when his kids were grown enough to understand the magnitude of his accomplishments. His son, Stefan, daughter, Tara were in the crowd and served as a motivation for him. "She (her daughter) was facing me when I was sitting on the bench. And she smiled at me. Every single time I needed, I guess that kind of innocent child energy, I got it from her. When I was going through the very stressful moments, particularly in the second set when I needed a little bit of a push of strength, of just lightness, I guess, she gave me a smile, a fist pump. She was into it. It is so funny to see that and so interesting to see that she is six years old, my son is nine, and they were both there. They are both aware of what is happening," he added. Coming to the match, Djokovic beat Medvedev 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3. With this, the 36-year-old won his third Grand Slam of the year after the Australian Open and French Open. Also, Djokovic has avenged the loss to Medvedev in the title clash of the US Open 2021. Despite fatigue, Djokovic captured his fourth US Open title after winning it in 2011, 2015 and 2018. The tennis star will return to the top of the ATP Rankings on Monday after a tough 104-minute second set, which saw him save a set point and surge to a win. He is also at the top of the ATP Live Rankings right now. He has won three Major titles three times before as well, in 2011, 2015 and 2021. (ANI)
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