It is up to the rising stars of men’s tennis to raise their level on the Tour if they wish to stop Novak Djokovic’s dominance in the sport, according to Andy Murray.
On Sunday Djokovic claimed his 24th Grand Slam title at the US Open after beating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets. The Serbian has won three out of four major events this year with the only exception being Wimbledon where he lost in the final to Carlos Alcaraz. This week he has returned to world No.1 for the first time since June. A position he has held for more weeks than any other player in ATP rankings history.
Djokovic has stated that he had no intention to retire from the sport anytime soon with his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, joking about his potential plans of playing at the 2028 Olympic Games when he will be 41. He has won 96 Tour titles so far in his career with 69 of them being at either a Grand Slam, Masters 1000 event or the ATP Finals.
Speaking about the tennis star during an interview with BBC Sport, Murray believes the level of his younger peers is still below that of Djokovic’s. Although some can argue that there are exceptions such as Alcaraz who is tied at 2-2 with Djokovic in their head-to-head.
“It’s up to the young guys to be pushing Novak and looking to overtake him. It doesn’t look like that’s close to happening,” said Murray.
“Novak’s been an incredible player for a very long time, like Roger and Rafa, it’s the longevity and how long they’ve all been able to do that for.
“Novak’s longevity has been the greatest. He’s played at this level for such a long time now.”
Murray, who is seven days younger than Djokovic, knows all too well what his opponent is capable of. The two have locked horns on the Tour 36 times with the Brit only winning 11 of those meetings. Seven out of Murray’s 11 Grand Slam finals contested was against Djokovic.
“I don’t think he’s going to stop at 24 titles, but you never know how long it will last. Physically, motivation, whether someone like Alcaraz improves – he’s an amazing player Alcaraz, he’s brilliant, but to do what Novak is doing on a consistent basis is different,” he continued.
“It’s not the same as doing it for 15-20 weeks a year like Novak is doing, every time he steps on the court. I do think that Alcaraz will soon get to that level but I don’t think this is going to be the last time that Novak wins a Grand Slam.”
Davis cup duties
This week the focus of many top names in men’s tennis will be on the Davis Cup’s group stages which are being held across four cities around the world. The two top from each group will then be promoted to the knockout stages in November.
Murray played an instrumental role in his country claiming the title in 2015 and believes they have what it takes to do so again this year. They will play France, Switzerland and Australia in ties that will be held in Manchester. Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans Neal Skupski and Jack Draper have all been called up to play.
“I do genuinely believe the team can win the event,” Murray said at the team press conference on Monday.
“That’s a huge motivation to be a part of it. I want to help the team in any way I can, whether that’s on the court or off. We’ll see what happens.”
Meanwhile, Djokovic will join his teammates in Valencia but will miss Serbia’s opening tie against South Korea. Later this week they will play the Czech Republic and Spain.
“Davis Cup is my priority until the end of the season,” he recently said to Serbian media in New York.
