Getting older Djokovic out to show again time in push for US Open glory

In what many see as Novak Djokovic’s final lifelike shot at Grand Slam glory, the 38-year-old tennis celebrity admits ‘actuality is ‘hitting him like by no means earlier than’

After semifinal runs in all three Grand Slams this season, 38-year-old Novak Djokovic arrives on the US Open chasing historical past whereas confronting the bounds of an growing older physique.

The Serbian nice stays in pursuit of an unprecedented twenty fifth Grand Slam title, however involves Flushing Meadows and not using a single aggressive singles match since his Wimbledon semifinal loss to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

Skipping hard-court tune-ups in Toronto and Cincinnati, Djokovic has positioned all his chips on New York in what many see as his final lifelike shot at Grand Slam glory.

After his straight-set Wimbledon loss to Sinner, he admitted actuality is “hitting him like by no means earlier than” and that closing the hole to at present’s greatest will get tougher every season.

“It’s simply age, the damage and tear of the physique. As a lot as I’m taking good care of it, the truth hits me proper now,” mentioned Djokovic, whose solely titles over the previous 18 months have been an Olympic gold in Paris and an ATP 250 in Geneva in Could.

“These guys are match, younger, sharp. I really feel like I’m going into the match with a tank half empty. It’s simply not doable to win a match like that. It’s one in all these items I settle for and embrace in a roundabout way, cope with the truth the way in which it’s, and attempt to take advantage of out of it.”

Djokovic isn’t solely chasing a twenty fifth main but additionally searching for to change into the oldest Grand Slam singles champion. Two years faraway from his final main triumph on the 2023 US Open, the seventh seed is aware of time is working out on his period.

What makes this quest all of the extra compelling is the opposition, with Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz rising because the standard-bearers of a brand new technology.

Between them, they’ve claimed each main since Djokovic’s final triumph at Flushing Meadows, with the Serb striving to maintain his place among the many recreation’s dominant forces.

Whether or not it proves a breakthrough or a final dance for Djokovic, the highlight stays on him, with historical past ready to be claimed, if his physique permits it. – Rappler.com