The 37-year-old, who practically raced out of knee surgery to make the Wimbledon final five weeks later, clinched gold at the Paris Olympics, outplaying Carlos Alcaraz in a match that was all about mental acuity.
Djokovic is in New York now, looking for a 25th major title that would take him past Margaret Court and also give him a 100th career crown.
Djokovic, returning to hard courts after five months, played Moldova’s Radu Albot in the US Open first round. It wasn’t his best serving day. He had 10 double faults and clocked only 47% of first serves, but the second seed was still good enough to go through 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 and set up a second-round meeting with compatriot Laslo Djere on Wednesday.
Djokovic trailed Djere by two sets in the third round of the US Open last year before turning it round.
“Djere likes playing on the big stage,” Djokovic said of his 29-year-old opponent, ranked 109 in the world. “He also loves the conditions here. It’s a bit quicker, the ball stays low. He has a flat backhand, very good serve, great return. I remember very well our match (from last year). It was a very tough match. I’m going to try to analyze that and hopefully do some things even better than I did last year.”
The good news is that the right knee is doing fine. Djokovic demonstrated that against Albot, covering the court, stretching, sliding, and painting the lines. He moved the Moldovan around, forcing him to make that extra step, reach a little wider and swing a little harder.
Djokovic, whose record-collecting run should be part of academic curriculum, became the oldest US Open champion in the Open Era when he claimed his fourth crown last year.
“I’ve been around for quite a few years, (around) different generations of players,” Djokovic said. “The kind of rivalries I have with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, in particular, and other guys from the generation before — Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas — are the kind of matchups that inspire me on a weekly basis, (it) pushes me to be able to run for hours with them on the biggest stage.”
“There is a big age difference, but that’s still not affecting me in a big way,” he said. “I feel good about myself, about my game, about where I am and what I have achieved in the last several years.”
Djokovic, who along with fellow pro Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, announced the creation of the Professional Tennis Players Association on the eve of the 2020 US Open, gains inspiration from off-court ventures too.
“I have a lot of things off the court that still run my juices. I love being part of the tennis story, PTPA is also something that motivates me. I have been working on this for many years, even before it was founded. I feel like it’s my responsibility being somebody who has a name and a status in the sport,” he added.
“A lot of players look up to me, Federer and Nadal. They look for guidance and they hope to get into leadership roles, as well.”
The words of the great mountaineer Edmund Hillary must resonate with the all-conquering Djokovic: ‘It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves’. It was never truer for the Serb than in that golden moment in Paris 2024.
