Resurgent Djokovic has his eyes fixed on US Open next
With his Grand Slam reputation and place back in the world top 10 restored, Novak Djokovic will now target a third career Wimbledon/US Open double after clinching his fourth title at the All England Club.
Djokovic defied the odds and even stunned himself by cruising to a 13th major title on Sunday to go fourth on the alltime list of Slam winners.
Only Pete
Sampras (14),
Rafael Nadal
(17) and Roger
Federer (20) are ahead of him following his 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) victory over Kevin Anderson.
Now the 31-year-old heads for the North America hard court season where he has traditionally thrived. Of his 69 career titles, 51 have been on hard courts with 17 of those in the United States.
When he won his first Wimbledon in 2011, he was to add his maiden US Open, repeating the grass court/hard court double four years later.
His desire to repeat that feat burns even deeper after he missed last year’s New York showpiece with the elbow injury.
“Well, I understand that people are questioning whether I can consistently play at this level. Trust me, I am, too,” said Djokovic.
“If you asked me a month and a half ago whether I think I can win Wimbledon, part of me yes, I hope, but maybe I wasn’t that sure at that time of my level of tennis. But this is going to be a huge boost and springboard for whatever is coming up. I like to play on hard courts.
“The US Open was always a successful tournament for me. I didn’t played it last year. I’m looking forward to go out there and play my best.”
Djokovic’s title triumph on Sunday was his first at the Grand Slams since Roland Garros in 2016 when he completed the career Grand Slam.
LONDON:
SERENA IN TOP 30
Serena Williams climbed 153 spots in the WTA rankings after her runner-up finish at Wimbledon, putting her back in the top 30. Williams is ranked 28th in the list published on Monday. At Wimbledon, the former No. 1 was playing only her fourth tournament after returning from childbirth.