Daniil Medvedev began his gracious runners-up acceptance speech at the 2023 US Open by saying, "First of all, I want to ask Novak, What are you still doing here?" It drew a chuckle from the crowd. And from Novak Djokovic. At 36, Djokovic knows that wisecracks about his age are fair game.
But the Serb still outlasted an opponent nine years his junior 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3, in an exhausting three-hour, 16-minute final, to claim his US Open crown and a joint-record 24th Grand Slam title. He is not a fading force, a 36-year-old straining to hold on to power in a world overrun by 20 somethings. Djokovic is the master of his universe. He just completed one of the best seasons of his career: winning three majors (Australian Open, French Open, US Open) and reaching the final of Wimbledon, and returned to World No 1 on 11 September.
"I had the childhood dream when I was seven, eight. I wanted to become the best player in the world and win the Wimbledon trophy," said Djokovic, who equalled Margaret Court's alltime record for most number of Grand Slam titles. "That was the only thing I wanted. I never imagined that I would be here talking about 24 Slams. But the last couple of years I felt I have a shot at history and why not grab it if it's presented."
The US Open hasn't been the happiest hunting grounds for the Serb in recent years. In 2020, he was disqualified from the major for stupidly, angrily, accidentally hitting a linesperson in the throat with a ball. A year later, he lost out on a chance of completing a calendar Grand Slam (winning all four majors in a year) as he faltered at the last hurdle - the US Open final against Medvedev. Djokovic was not allowed to compete at the 2022 US Open because he was unvaccinated against covid-19.
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