For those who think Novak Djokovic lacks motivation after winning his first Olympic gold medal earlier this month, the Serbian tennis legend has a message.
For those who think Novak Djokovic might lack motivation after winning his first Olympic gold medal earlier this month, the Serbian tennis legend has a message.
He knows a record-setting 25th Grand Slam title is within his sights and that he can accomplish it across the next two weeks at the U.S. Open.
“People would ask me, you know, now that you have basically won everything with the golden medal, what else is there to win?” Djokovic said Saturday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. “I still feel the drive. You know, I still have the competitive spirit. I still want to make more history and enjoy myself on the tour. I still hope to inspire many young people to watch tennis, play tennis.
“Those are some of the reasons why I still keep on going. Grand Slams are the pillars of our sport. They are ‘the’ most important historical tennis events that we have. So if you don’t get pumped and inspired to play your best tennis at Grand Slams, it’s hard to do that anywhere else.”
The 37-year-old was a no-show Friday at a practice event with Holger Rune in Arthur Ashe Stadium and there was a report that he was dealing with an injury scare, but the Serb made no mention of any problems on Saturday and was not asked directly about it. He did practice Friday for an hour with Rune on an outside court.
After not playing any hardcourt warm-up tournaments, he said he’s ready to go for his first-round match on Monday night against Radu Albot of Moldova.
“U.S. Open is a Slam that holds the biggest tennis court in the world, tennis stadium,” he said. “You know, night sessions at U.
