McEnroe: US Open win just more ‘gravy’ for Djokovic

[Pelican Press 0]

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McEnroe: US Open win just more ‘gravy’ for Djokovic

Having scaled his Mount Olympus to claim the Olympic gold that had always eluded him, Novak Djokovic has nothing left to prove and can put more daylight between himself and his two historic rivals by winning another major at the US Open.

The 37-year-old Serbia great fell to his knees and sobbed into the Parisian clay after beating young **** Carlos Alcaraz to complete his “Golden Slam” and put an exclamation mark on his status as the GOAT of men’s tennis.

Djokovic won his 24th grand slam singles in New York last year to move two ahead of Spaniard Rafa Nadal, whose career is winding down and who will not compete at the year’s final major, and four clear of retired Swiss maestro Roger Federer.

“He’s looking to sort of separate himself from Federer and Nadal, that’s really is what it boils down to,” former world No.1 turned ESPN broadcaster John McEnroe told reporters.

“He seems to have already done that in a way. He’s won the Olympics, won everything, won more than those guys. To me, you’d have to ask him, but it is gravy. He sort of put himself there already.”

Djokovic’s Paris triumph was all the more impressive as it came two months after knee surgery against Alcaraz, the 21-year-old Spaniard who thrashed him in this year’s Wimbledon final in what felt like it might be a changing of the guard.

Djokovic got a hero’s welcome from thousands who greeted him on his return to Belgrade on Monday.

The affection he felt in Serbia’s capital stands in contrast to the at times frosty reception he has received from tennis fans around the world who fell in love with Federer and Nadal before Djokovic came along and usurped his rivals.

“It was a fairytale,” former world No.1 Chris Evert said of Djokovic striking gold in Paris.

“But you know what? I believe in karma. This guy has worked his ***** off his whole life, put up with a lot from the press and from being kind of the bad guy with Federer and Nadal. He deserves it. He deserves it all.”

If four-time US Open champion Djokovic can pull off the “Herculean” task of lifting a 25th grand slam at Flushing Meadows, then what?

“I would allow him to retire after that,” Evert said to laughter from reporters. “I would say, ‘Okay, you have everybody in the world’s permission to retire’.”

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