US Open triumph would be icing on the cake for Olympic champion Novak Djokovic

LOS ANGELES – At every Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic is always one of the first names on everyone’s list as a favourite to win – despite his age, his injuries and the young guns who are constantly aiming to knock him off the top.

Having scaled his Mount Olympus in August to claim the Olympic gold medal that had eluded him, the Serb has nothing left to prove and can put more daylight between himself and his two historic rivals by winning another Slam at the US Open, which starts on Aug 26.

The emotional 37-year-old fell to his knees and sobbed into the Parisian clay after beating Carlos Alcaraz to complete the “Golden Slam” and put an exclamation mark on his already cemented status as the “greatest of all time” in men’s tennis.

He won his 24th Slam title in New York last season to move two ahead of Spaniard Rafael Nadal, whose career is winding down and who will not compete at the year’s final Major, and four clear of retired Swiss maestro Roger Federer.

Djokovic, Nadal and Federer once comprised the “Big Three” who had a two-decade long stranglehold on the men’s game but the current world No. 2 is the last man standing in 2024.

“He’s looking to sort of separate himself from Federer and Nadal, that really is what it boils down to,” said former world No. 1 turned ESPN commentator John McEnroe.

“He seems to have already done that in a way. He’s won the Olympics, won everything, won more than those guys. To me, you’d have to ask him, but it (having more success) is gravy. He sort of put himself there already.”

Djokovic’s Paris triumph was all the more impressive as it came two months after knee surgery and was against world No. 3 Alcaraz, the 21-year-old Spaniard who thrashed him in this season’s Wimbledon final in what felt like it might be a changing of the guard.

Despite having nothing left to win, the US Open now comes at a critical time for the Serb in his bid for longevity.

He was succeeded as Australian Open champion by Italy’s Jannik Sinner, who also relieved him of his world No. 1 ranking. Alcaraz then took his French Open title before sweeping him off court at Wimbledon.

Djokovic’s Olympic win, therefore, proved that he is more than ready to bounce back.

He got a hero’s welcome from the thousands on hand to greet him when he returned to Belgrade earlier this week, and has called the Olympic title “the biggest sporting achievement I have had”.

“At the age of 37 and facing a 21-year-old (Alcaraz) who is probably the best player in the world right now, winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back, I can say that this is probably the biggest success,” insisted Djokovic.

The affection he felt in Serbia’s capital stands in contrast to the at times frosty reception he has received from tennis fans around the world, who fell in love with Federer and Nadal before Djokovic came along and usurped his rivals.

“It was a fairy tale,” former world No. 1 and ESPN commentator Chris Evert said of Djokovic striking gold in Paris.

“But you know what? I believe in karma. This guy has worked his butt off his whole life, put up with a lot from the press and from being kind of the bad guy with Federer and Nadal. He deserves it. He deserves it all.”

If four-time US Open champion Djokovic can pull off the “Herculean” task of lifting a 25th Slam trophy at Flushing Meadows, taking him clear of the 24 he shares with Margaret Court, then what?

“I would allow him to retire after that,” Evert added to laughter from reporters.

“I would say, ‘Okay, you have everybody in the world’s permission to retire’.” REUTERS, AFP