US Open: Novak Djokovic aims for historic 25th Grand Slam title after Olympic gold | Tennis News

Novak Djokovic is back at the top of the tennis Olympus and wants to make history again at the US Open.

With the gold medal he secured in Paris earlier this month, a medal he never achieved in his previous four Olympic attempts, the 37-year-old Djokovic became only the fifth player to win the sport’s “Golden Slam,” following in the footsteps of Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.

Now the Serb is aiming for his 25th Grand Slam victory in Flushing Meadows, which would break his current tie of 24 wins with Australian Margaret Court.

Of all the mountains Djokovic has conquered, this is surely the only peak that still lies ahead of him before he is literally done with tennis, and it is one that has seemed highly unlikely for most of 2024.

At the beginning of the season, he remained winless and lost his place as number 1 in the world rankings to Jannik Sinner when the young Italian followed up his first Grand Slam success at the Australian Open with a win at the Miami Open.

Along the way, Sinner beat Djokovic in the semifinals in Melbourne, earning his third win in four matches against the ageing tennis star.

Add to that Djokovic’s knee injury, which ended his run to the quarterfinals of the French Open, and the ease with which Carlos Alcaraz swept him off the court in straight sets in the Wimbledon final for the second year in a row, and you’d think there had been a changing of the guard and another of the “big four” of men’s tennis was leaving the field.

But one thing has been most evident in the two decades in which Djokovic, the now-retired Roger Federer and Andy Murray, and the ailing Rafael Nadal dominated the sport: “Never write off Djokovic.”

Just three weeks after his crushing loss to Alcaraz in his almost spiritual home of SW19 – where he has won seven of his 24 Grand Slam tournaments – Djokovic delivered a stunning performance on the clay court of Roland Garros to exact revenge on the Spaniard, sparking wild and emotional celebrations.

“It was the only piece of the puzzle that was missing and at the age of 37 this was his last chance,” said Tim Henman of Sky Sports.

“The whole psychology and pressure involved must have been absolutely enormous. And then there was the fact that he was playing against Alcaraz, who is in top form. The fact that Djokovic came through and won was absolutely unbelievable.”

Despite the obvious relief and emotion that came with his Olympic victory, there is no danger of him retiring.

Djokovic said after Wimbledon: “I have no limitations in my mind. I still want to continue and play as long as I feel like I can play at this high level.”

Then, speaking at the Serbian Olympic medalists’ ceremony, he even hinted that he would continue until he was 41 in the hope of defending his gold medal.

“I’m going to try to make it to Los Angeles,” he said.

Given the knee injury that has marred his year and other ailments that will undoubtedly creep in over time, this may be the limit of what is physically possible, but let’s say it again together: “Never write off Djokovic.”

“People quickly forget that Djokovic won three Grand Slams last year,” said Jonathan Overend of Sky Sports.

“He’s 37, but he just played one of the best games of his life and won the Olympics, so maybe he’s not going anywhere yet.

“He always surprises and as long as he does that, everything remains possible.

“However, I still think he has a moment in him where he has to drop the mic and give up. That could be when he wins 25 Grand Slams, breaking the all-time record, one ahead of Margaret Court.”

This would certainly be a nice farewell, but he has to get there first, and Djokovic travels to Flushing Meadows without having played any recent hardcourt matches, having cancelled his participation in the Cincinnati Open following his Olympic outings.

Sinner impressed when he won that warm-up title, Alcaraz is a former 2022 US Open champion, Alexander Zverev is a former finalist and in top form in 2024 and is Djokovic perhaps a little immature?

Maybe, but “never write off Djokovic”.

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