1 year ago
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Novak Djokovic says it is not down to him to determine if helium is the top subordinate of each clip aft helium won a men's grounds 23rd Grand Slam title.
Serbia's Djokovic won the French Open connected Sunday, moving him 1 wide of Rafael Nadal successful presumption of men's majors.
He is level with Serena Williams connected 23 and could adjacent Margaret Court's all-time grounds of 24 astatine Wimbledon successful July.
"I don't privation to participate successful these discussions. I'm penning my ain history," Djokovic, 36, said.
"I don't privation to accidental I americium the greatest. I permission those discussions to idiosyncratic else."
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In the past respective years Djokovic has been locked successful an engaging conflict with Nadal and Roger Federer, who retired past twelvemonth with 20 large titles, to decorativeness with the astir men's Grand Slams.
By beating Norway's Casper Ruud astatine Roland Garros, Djokovic has moved wide of his long-time rivals for the archetypal time.
On this grounds Djokovic looks a bully stake to widen the spread further, particularly with the injured Nadal readying to discontinue successful 2024 and 41-year-old Federer already retired.
"It's astonishing to cognize that I'm up of some of them successful Grand Slams, but astatine the aforesaid clip everyone writes their ain history," said Djokovic, who besides regained the satellite fig 1 ranking successful Paris.
"I consciousness similar each large champion of his ain procreation has near a immense people and a legacy.
"I person immense faith, assurance and content successful myself and everything that I am, who I americium and what I americium susceptible of doing.
"This trophy is different confirmation of the prime of tennis that I'm inactive capable to produce."
How galore much Slams tin Djokovic win?
Djokovic volition effort to necktie Court's grounds astatine Wimbledon - a spot wherever helium has already won 7 times and volition beryllium the favourite to adjacent Federer's grounds tally of men's titles.
"Grand Slams are the biggest priorities connected the checklist, not conscionable this play but immoderate season, particularly astatine this signifier of my career," Djokovic said.
"The travel is inactive not over. If I'm winning Slams, wherefore adjacent deliberation astir ending the vocation that already has been going for 20 years?
"I inactive consciousness motivated and inspired to play the champion tennis successful these tournaments.
"These are the ones that number the astir successful the past of our sport."
Djokovic has chopped backmost his docket astatine circuit level successful caller years successful a bid to highest astatine the close clip for the 4 majors.
That strategy is intelligibly working, with Djokovic present having won six of the past 8 majors helium has played.
"He has this bundle successful his caput that helium tin power erstwhile a Grand Slam comes," Goran Ivanisevic, Djokovic's long-time coach, said.
"The time we arrived present [in Paris], helium was better, helium was much motivated, helium was much hungry.
"It's fascinating to see, due to the fact that sometimes you deliberation 'OK, present you person 23'.
"But he's going to find immoderate benignant of information to triumph 24, possibly 25 - who knows wherever is the end?"
Does helium inactive person the carnal spot to triumph more?
Djokovic came into Roland Garros without a large woody of mentation having been hampered by an elbow wounded successful the European clay-court swing.
After needing attraction successful his third-round triumph implicit Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Djokovic said helium had a database of injuries "too agelong to name" and added the lone mode to woody with carnal issues was to "accept it".
"I don't similar to deliberation astir property and, it sounds similar a cliché, but I truly consciousness property is conscionable a fig successful my case," said Djokovic, who surpassed 2022 victor Nadal arsenic the oldest Roland Garros men's singles champion.
"My assemblage is responding differently. I person to woody with much things physically than I person had possibly successful the past.
"Maybe 5 to 10 years agone I was recovering overmuch quicker oregon conscionable didn't consciousness arsenic overmuch symptom successful the body."
Ivanisevic said helium was ne'er disquieted astir Djokovic's information and believes helium inactive has "a batch more" successful his assemblage to triumph majors.
"He's keeping his assemblage large - there's small ones [injuries] present and determination but not major," said the Croat, who won Wimbledon successful 2001.
"He's unbelievable and he's inactive moving similar a feline connected the court. He's determination similar a ninja, he's everywhere."
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