He didn’t mention it outright either Rafael Nadal nor to Roger Federer at that moment in his speech, but the praise he gave Novak Djokovic in Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in New York instantly brought everything back to the glory days of ‘Big Three’the one where the Serbian, Spanish and Swiss fed each other brutally until the three of them became the three best tennis players in history.
Djokovic (24 Grand Slams), Nadal (22) and Federer (20) have acknowledged many times that this opportunity in time has made all three of them better players than they would have been without the other two existing, to reach a level of excellence that surely even they themselves could not have imagined in the beginning.
The previous record of Pete Sampras of the 14 ‘greats’, which seemed inaccessible at the time, have long sunk into the trunk of memories, mercilessly shaken by three of the greatest competitive beasts tennis has ever known.
Federer has said goodbye and Nadal is about to retire, but Djokovic is still on top at 37 years old, showing a great level of tennis, the latest example in the impressive Olympic final marked to win gold after also overcome a version that was Carlos Alcaraz’s extraordinary performance in that match Roland Garrosthe headquarters of tennis in Games Paris.
Champion of almost everything for a long time, that Olympic gold was the only major title he did not accept, so the question arose at the press conference before his debut in US Openthe fourth and last grand slam of the season.
“People ask me: ‘Now that you’ve won all this Olympic gold medal, what else is there to win?’ And I still feel the impulse, I still feel that competitive spirit, I still want to make more history, enjoy the circuit and inspire many young people to play tennis or watch it,” answered Djokovic, who can now be seen in Alcaraz and Sinner if what He saw Nadal and Federer as two fierce rivals who forced him to increase in search of a higher level.
“These types of rivalries that I have now with Jannik and Carlos are the types of matchups that still give me the joy of competition and inspire me to work hard to perfect my game. The goal will always try to reach the final and fight for the title “That type of mentality is no different for me this year,” explained ‘Nole’ at the gates of his US Open debut early Monday to Tuesday in Spain against the Romanian . Radu Albot.
Djokovic, current world No. 2, will begin defending his title. Sinner (1st) and Alcaraz (3rd) are the other two big favorites in New York. Other than those three, any champion on September 8 would be a surprise, although it would be relative if they won Alexander Zverev (4th) o Daniel Medvedev (5th), the only one who showed flashes to interfere in the debates of the new ‘wonder trio’.
Unless there is an unexpected and unprecedented rise this year from some ‘covered’ players, everything points to the name of the 2024 US Open champion being among the quintet of stars.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
