Asked by journalists, Djokovic responded about the reigning champion’s streak:
“I didn’t know. I knew it was probably the last five or ten years, but I didn’t know it was this long. Yeah, I mean, I hope that changes this year. That’s the goal. You know, the goal is always for me to try to get to the final and fight for the trophy. I mean that kind of mindset or approach is no different for me this year. You know, people ask me now that you’ve won it all with the gold medal, what else is there to win? I’m still motivated. I’m still competitive. I still want to make history and have fun on the tour. I still hope to inspire a lot of young people to watch tennis and play tennis.”
The Serbian superstar also explained that the confrontations with different generations in the last years of his career continue to motivate him and force him to perfect his game:
“Those kind of rivalries that I have with Jannik and Carlos, in particular, of course, and other guys from the previous generation, like Zverev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, you know, are the kind of matchups that always bring me that joy of competition and really inspire me, on a weekly basis when I’m not competing, to push myself to perfect the game and give me the ability to be able to run for hours with them on the biggest stage.”
Djokovic is set to face Moldova’s Radu Albot in the final match at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night, and he said the nighttime atmosphere at the US Open was one of his favorites of the year:
“You know, the night sessions of the US Open are very famous, the most famous in our sport. I’m going to play my first match here on Monday night, so I’m looking forward to being under the lights. The noise, the energy of the stadium is different from anything else. I’m looking forward to it.”
