Novak Djokovic has admitted there is nerves and a burden ahead of a historic US Open campaign.
The Serb enters the US Open in fine form as he played his first tournament since Wimbledon in Cincinnati where he gained revenge on Carlos Alcaraz in an epic final to win the title.
Djokovic’s win in Cincinnati means that if he wins his opening round match against Alexandre Muller then he will become world number one regardless of what Alcaraz does.
However Djokovic is more focused on a 24th Grand Slam title in New York as he makes his return to the US Open after a one year absence.
Speaking ahead of the fortnight in New York, Djokovic said that he feels a lot of nerves and spoke about the burden of Grand Slam tennis, “Well, I get nervous as anybody else really. People think that I don’t have any stress or tension. Actually in contrary, I have quite a lot of that,” Djokovic admitted in his pre-tournament press conference.
“I have to deal with it, manage it. Everyone has their own way of managing the emotions and trying to be in optimal balance emotionally, mentally, and physically in order to perform their best.
“Well, Grand Slams are the biggest goals that I have in my career at the moment. I always speak about that, that I aim to peak and perform my best in Grand Slams. I don’t know how many more slams I’ll have. I’ll still keep going. I don’t have an end in my mind at the moment.
“I also understand that things are different when you’re 36, so I have to be more appreciative, a bit more I guess present, treating every Grand Slam as maybe your last one in terms of commitment and performance.
“I see this every Grand Slam that I play right now as really a golden opportunity to make more history. Of course, there’s a big significance to that. I wouldn’t say adds a bit more, the fact I haven’t played here for two years, it’s just the feeling is pretty much the same.
“There’s always these expectations, excitement, and ambition to win the title. That’s pretty much the same this year.”
The expectation for Djokovic is history and history only as he looks to win a fourth US Open title.
Standing in Djokovic’s way will be Carlos Alcaraz who the Serb beat in a three set thriller in Cincinnati.
The second seed reflected on why that title meant so much to him and said he’s not thinking about a potential final against the Spaniard just yet, “That’s why I fell on the ground after I won the match because it felt like winning a Grand Slam, to be honest,” Djokovic said about the Cincinnati final,
“The amount of exchanges and rallies. It was physically so demanding and gruelling that I felt very exhausted for the next few days. Those are kind of the moments in matches that I still push myself on a daily basis for day in and day out, practice, sacrifice, commitment. At 36, still have the drive.
“I think it’s also in a way disrespectful to your next opponent if you’re already thinking about your finals matchup. Even though I’ve had tremendous success, maybe you could argue that I could already start thinking about later phases and stages in the tournament, but that kind of mindset never really resonated with me.
“But Carlos is No. 1 in the world. He’s definitely one of the best players in the world the last couple years. Sure, there’s always an eye that follows him from my team, from any other team. I know that the same goes for me probably.
“We follow each other. I’m sure his team watches my matches. My team watches his matches. It’s no secret. But seriously working on a practice court on something that is related to Alcaraz, it only happens if I get to play him.”
Djokovic will begin his US Open campaign on Monday on Arthur Ashe Stadium when he plays in the second night session match.
