Novak Djokovic vows to ‘keep going’ after setting new Grand Slam record | Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic has bad news for Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and all other men’s tennis grand slam hopefuls: “I will continue.”

Djokovic won a record 24th Grand Slam title by beating Medvedev in three grueling sets to win the US Open. The 36-year-old capped another dominant year, in which he won the Australian and French Opens and was runner-up to Alcaraz at Wimbledon, by becoming Flushing Meadows’ oldest champion in the era Open.

Even Medvedev, whose challenge ended after losing a marathon 104-minute second set, asked: “What are you still doing here?” I mean, come on.

But Djokovic insisted: “I will continue. You know, I feel good in my body. I always feel that I have the support of my environment, my team, my family.

“The Grand Slams, I have said in recent years, have always been my highest goal and my priority throughout the season. I don’t play as much as other tournaments, so I try to prioritize my preparation so that I can reach my peak at Grand Slams.

“These are the moments and the kind of emotions that I motivate myself with every day when I’m not playing a tournament. Yeah, sometimes I wonder “why do I still need this at this point after everything I’ve done, you know?” How long do I want to continue? I have these questions in mind, of course.

“But knowing that I’m still playing at such a high level and winning the biggest tournaments in this sport, I don’t want to leave this sport if I’m still at the top, you know, if I’m still playing the way I play .

Djokovic’s victory in New York moves him above Serena Williams to become the all-time leader in grand slams in the Open era. The Serbian is tied with Margaret Court for the most Grand Slam tournaments won, but the Australian won many of her titles before the Open era began in 1968.

A double fault from Medvedev and a blistering backhand winner down the line gave Djokovic the first break point which he converted into love to win the first set in a relatively quick 48 minutes.

The Russian, coming from way behind the baseline, made Djokovic work in the second set and it started to show with the favorite showing signs of fatigue. After an hour and three quarters, Medvedev produced his first break point of the match but Djokovic snuffed it out expertly with a big serve and an immaculate volley.

Medvedev had the point on Djokovic’s serve, but another volley at the net settled the matter, and when the tie-break eluded the 27-year-old, the match quickly followed.

“The second set was the best I played and I didn’t win it,” Medvedev said. “That’s why the match went that way, because first and third, he was quite better. The second, if I had won it, maybe it could have been a different match… I will try to be better next time.