Chris Evert thinks she knows what Novak Djokovic may decide to do if he wins the 2024 US Open.
The Serbian has already made one piece of history this summer and is aiming for another career-defining moment at Flushing Meadows.
After Djokovic lost the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz in July, he said his two biggest goals for the remainder of the season were to win the Olympic gold medal and retain his US Open title.
Now Olympic champion, Djokovic has his sights set on winning a record 25th Grand Slam and fifth in New York, which would draw him level with Roger Federer and Pete Sampras who both have five.
What is Chris Evert’s prediction about Novak Djokovic if he wins the US Open?
Novak Djokovic won his fourth US Open in 2023 after beating Daniil Medvedev in the final. This was his 24th Grand Slam overall, which put him two ahead of Rafael Nadal and four ahead of Federer.
He has a chance to win a 25th in New York and should he achieve that, Evert thinks he will have nothing left to prove or accomplish and would bid farewell to tennis soon after.
“I think if he wins the 25th major, I would think he would leave the game. I mean, I don’t know, he would break that tie with Margaret Court. He’s won the Olympics,” she told ESPN.
“That was such a big goal for him, winning the Olympics. As far as winning the US Open, does the 25th mean as much? Can he get that energy going as much as he got in the Olympics? He’s going to come up against, again, some really tough competition.
“Can he do it two times in a row, the Olympics and the US Open? I would allow him to retire after that, I would say ‘Okay, you have everybody in the world’s permission to retire. That would be epic if he could do that.”
Novak Djokovic is aiming to do something not achieved for 16 years at the US Open
Should Djokovic retain his US Open title this year, he would do something at the event last achieved by his former rival Federer.
The Swiss Maestro was the last male player to successfully defend the Grand Slam, back in 2008.
He defeated Djokovic in what was the 37-year-old’s first major final at the 2007 US Open to win his fourth title in a row at Flushing Meadows.
The following year, Federer won his fifth straight US Open by defeating Andy Murray, also playing in his first major final, to defend the trophy once again.
Djokovic could become the first man to replicate that feat in 16 years and the first male or female to defend the US Open title since Serena Williams won her third in a row in 2014.
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