Novak Djokovic declares his desire to lay on another epic
Novak Djokovic says that he hopes for another incredible match against Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open.
In order to make that happen, both men will need to reach the championship match in New York.
The rivalry between Alcaraz and Djokovic has come to dominate tennis after they met in the French Open semi-finals and championship matches at Wimbledon and Cincinnati.
While Djokovic baulked at the prospect of another decade filled with epic battles against a Spanish rival, he is more than up to the task of facing Alcaraz in New York.
“I’m not so sure about that, but I’ll try to play at a high level for as long as possible,” Djokovic told Eurosport.
“We have played three amazing, epic matches against each other at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and Cincinnati recently.
“All the matches went the distance; they were physically gruelling and demanding, but very exciting and close matches.
“The fans want to see a rivalry; they want to see the best players in the world go toe-to-toe. Hopefully we can give them another match here in New York.”
Djokovic appears to once again be drawing strength from the challenge of having a great rival.
“Well, I get nervous as anybody else really. People think that I don’t have any stress or tension,” Djokovic told a pre-tournament press conference.
“Actually in contrary, I have quite a lot of that. 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.
“I’ve played great the entire week prior to the finals. Haven’t dropped a set in Cincinnati. Then played night sessions all of the matches, then I played on a very hot day, just experienced physical difficulties.
“Carlos was playing very well. He’s always pushing me to the limit. I think I do to him pretty much the same thing. That’s why we produced memorable final. It was one of the best, most exciting, and most difficult finals I was ever part of in best-of-three, no doubt, throughout my career.
“That’s why I fell on the ground after I won the match because it felt like winning a Grand Slam, to be honest. The amount of exchanges and rallies. It was physically so demanding and grueling 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 love competition. I think the more you find yourself in those particular circumstances where you’re experiencing adversity on the court, where things are not maybe moving the right way for you in terms of the performance of that day, in terms of tennis, or mentally you’re not feeling your best, that’s normally the best possible opportunity for you to grow mentally from that, to learn something. Normally in the face of adversity is where you learn the most.
“So that’s kind of my mentality in these kind of matches, really trying to not accept defeat as an option, and really give it all, really give it all.
“It’s kind of a cat-and-mouse play really on the court. There’s a lot of things that are happening. You’re trying to outplay or outsmart your opponent tactically, but then you have to fight with your own demons as well, the self-doubt, tension, all the things that are happening in the midst of such battle.”
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