RIVALS BEHIND THE RISE OF THE DJOKER
NOVAK Djokovic credited Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for making him the player he is after matching Pete Sampras with a 14th grand slam singles title at the US Open yesterday.
“Pete Sampras is one of the biggest legends ever to play the game,” Djokovic said after earning a third US Open crown with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 victory over Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro.
“He was my childhood idol. ‘He was someone I was looking up to.
‘‘The first actual thing I saw related to tennis on the TV was his first or second Wimbledon championship.
‘‘That inspired me to start playing tennis.
“There is a lot of significance of me being now shoulder to shoulder in terms of grand slam wins with him.”
The victory put the Serbian three grand slam singles titles away from Nadal’s 17 and six behind Federer’s record 20.
It will also see him rise to No.3 in the world rankings for 2018 behind Nadal and Federer.
The rankings again reflected the “Big Three” status they have shared for so long.
Djokovic had tumbled down the rankings, slowed last year by an elbow injury and a loss of confidence that accompanied a 54-week title drought.
After bursting out of the slump with an unexpected Wimbledon title he added a long-awaited Cincinnati Masters title to his resume.
Now he has another US Open title to add to those he won in 2011 and 2015.