Chris Evert believes that if Novak Djokovic wins the next US Open, he may decide to “quit the game”. The Serbian 24-time Grand Slam champion has insisted that he still has the motivation and drive to play for a few more years, despite not having much left to achieve.
Winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games was the last achievement missing in his tennis career. Djokovic has won every Grand Slam tournament at least three times and every Masters 1000 at least twice and holds the absolute record for weeks as number 1 with 428 weeks, far ahead of second-placed Roger Federer (310 weeks).
Currently, Djokovic is the male player with the most Grand Slam titles, but he remains tied with Margaret Court, even though most of the Australian’s titles were won before the Open Era: “I think if he wins the 25th major tournament, he would leave the game. I mean, I don’t know, he would break the tie with Margaret Court. He won the Olympics,” said Chris Evert.
“It was such a big goal for him to win the Olympics. Does winning the US Open mean as much as winning 25th? Can he bring the same energy as he did at the Olympics?” she added.
“He will face very strong competition again. Can he do it two times in a row, at the Olympics and the US Open? I would allow him to retire after that, I would say ‘Okay, you have the whole world’s permission to retire (laughter).’
“That would be epic if he could do that. But he’s an ambitious person. He’s a very ambitious person, more than anyone I’ve ever seen. He’s had a lot of ups and downs in his life, in his marriage, in his personal relationships, I think because he’s so determined,” added the 18-time Grand Slam champion. “But he’s also handled everything. He’s a communicator and he gets things sorted out. He seems to be in the best position he’s been in for a long time.”
Chris Evert highlighted Djokovic’s ability to secure the coveted gold medal after an irregular season and obvious physical problems that forced him to undergo surgery less than two months earlier: “I think it would be a herculean task if he wins this tournament and turns 25. I mean, I think that he would have to be, without a doubt, the greatest player of all time, a male player of all time. I think that in many people’s minds he already is,” said the American.
“I just think it was like a fairytale for him to win the Olympics, after what he went through with the surgery, with Alcaraz seemingly starting to take over and starting to get his number like he did at Wimbledon, that he came back and found that resilience and that level of tennis play that we actually didn’t see all year because he didn’t win a tournament all year.”
“I didn’t expect it. It was a fairy tale. But you know what? I believe in karma. This guy has worked his ass off his whole life, put up with a lot of press and been kind of the villain next to Federer and Nadal. He deserves it. He deserves all of this.”
2024-08-22 05:40:27