Novak Djokovic is still chasing his 25th grand slam title, after two consecutive Wimbledon final defeats.
It was fifth time lucky for Serbia’s Novak Djokovic as he won the Olympic gold medal that so cruelly eluded him previously.
While the North American hard court season has been in full swing for over a fortnight, Djokovic has elected to have an extended break the US Open, rather than play in the warm-up tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati.
As Djokovic’s celebrations have been non-stop in Serbia, the rest of the tour is waiting to see what version of the Serb will arrive at the US Open.
Having won his 24th major title last year at Flushing Meadows, the 37-year-old’s form doesn’t look like it’s close to stalling.
His Olympic triumph was an amalgamation of everything Djokovic has done to succeed in his career – battling against the odds, upsetting the narrative, and ultimately, winning.
Patrick Mouratoglou predicts how long Novak Djokovic will remain playing
Djokovic’s Olympic win felt like the ultimate moment for him – while his attitude and work ethic is not be sniffed at, no title has managed to remain so out of reach than the gold medal.
After having surgery on his knee after the French Open, his Olympic dream once again looked in peril, if not for his a flawless Parisian comeback.
Set to defend his US Open title next month, Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou weighed in how long the Serb will remain at the top level.
“I think Novak can still play 3 or 4 years at the highest level,” he said on his Instagram. “The real question is about his motivation. I think he really struggled with motivation until the Olympics.
“Everybody felt like it was the end for Rafa, Novak felt it too. For sure, it hit his motivation really hard. But after that, Rafa came back on clay, his level was good and I think this gave extra motivation to Novak.
“Sinner started to play great. Alcaraz again, I think it touched his ego, and he came back really strong and finally won the title that he was chasing his whole career, which was a gold medal at the Olympics to complete his collection of trophies.
“So what’s gonna happen now in the future?” Mouratoglou probed. “He’s in great shape, he plays unbelievable tennis. He’s ready to compete, I think, 2, 3, 4 years at the highest level. But he needed this competition between him and Roger and Rafa to be the greatest.
“The only confrontation he can have now is probably Carlos and Jannik pushing him, beating him, him feeling his ego touched and wanting to show that he’s still great.”
Novak Djokovic is the favorite to win the US Open
By deciding to skip Cincinnati, which he won last year, Djokovic is clearly solely looking for his 25th major title.
Currently tied on 24 with Margaret Court, the Serb has been out of luck at the majors this year, with semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner in Melbourne, retirement at the French, and a thrashing at Wimbledon.
While Djokovic admitted the Olympics was his priority, with that in the bag, why not go all-out for the next big tournament just one month later.
If he fails in New York, he’s only a few months off the Australian Open – a tournament he has won 10 times.
With Sinner clearly not 100%, Carlos Alcaraz untested on the hard courts since March, and the rest of the pack slipping up, Djokovic will arrive well rested and ready to seize glory in New York.
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