Novak Djokovic goes for US Open title and Grand Slam

NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic remembers conscionable however adjacent Serena Williams came to a calendar-year Grand Slam successful 2015 earlier coming up abbreviated astatine the U.S. Open.

He recalls chatting with Williams during that tourney astir each that went on with a bid for the uncommon achievement, which has lone been accomplished by 2 men and 3 women successful the past of a athletics that dates to the precocious 1800s.

After winning the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, Williams was  upset successful the semifinals astatine Flushing Meadows by Roberta Vinci. Now Djokovic is simply a measurement closer, heading into the U.S. Open last connected Sunday against Daniil Medvedev needing 1 much triumph to spell 28-0 astatine Grand Slam tournaments and assertion each 4 trophies successful a azygous season.

No antheral has done that since Rod Laver did it for a 2nd clip successful 1969, nary pistillate since Steffi Graf successful 1988. (Laver was successful the stands for Friday’s semifinals and is expected to beryllium determination Sunday, too).

As the extremity enactment neared six years ago, Williams was not fond of discussing what was astatine stake, describing herself arsenic “fed up” by changeless questions astir the existent Grand Slam.

“She was precise affectional astir everything that was going on. I tin subordinate to what she’s been going done close now. I recognize it now,” said Djokovic, a 34-year-old from Serbia. “I recognize wherefore she wanted to debar each the questions astir it, due to the fact that successful the extremity of the day, you person to spell retired connected the tribunal and deliver. You’re expected to ever win.”

Like Williams, Djokovic lately has sought to bounds his treatment of what helium is trying to do.

“I’ll beryllium giving it each I’ve perchance got successful the vessel to triumph this match. I’m focusing connected recovery, recalibrating each the systems, basically, for Sunday,” helium said aft eliminating No. 4 Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 successful the semifinals. “I’m not going to discarded clip oregon vigor connected thing that tin conscionable beryllium a distraction and deplete maine from the captious vigor that I need.”

In summation to the quest to spell 4 for 4 astatine Slams, the No. 1-ranked Djokovic has different milestone successful his sights.

If helium beats No. 2 Medvedev for a 21st vocation large championship, Djokovic would eclipse the men’s grounds helium presently shares with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. A 4th rubric connected the hard courts of Flushing Meadows would beryllium added to a ninth connected the hard courts of Melbourne Park successful February, 2nd connected the clay of Roland Garros successful June and sixth connected the writer of Wimbledon successful July.

This volition beryllium Djokovic’s record-tying 31st Grand Slam last and record-setting ninth astatine the U.S. Open.

“If you look astatine the stats, if you look astatine the axenic crippled of tennis action, he’s the top of each time,” Zverev said. “Nobody is determination with him, due to the fact that (he has the) astir weeks satellite No. 1, astir Masters 1000s titles, astir apt going to beryllium the astir Grand Slams, astatine the extremity of the day. And helium has the accidental of winning each 4 successful the aforesaid year. How bash you vie with that?”

With each successful the offing against Medvedev, however does Djokovic hole to beryllium astatine his best?

“I cognize we privation to speech astir history. I cognize it’s connected the line. I’m alert of it. Of course, I’m alert of it. But I’m conscionable trying to fastener into what I cognize works for me,” Djokovic said. “I person my routines. I person my people. I isolate myself. I stitchery each the indispensable vigor for the adjacent battle, lone the adjacent match, the adjacent match.”

That passageway imaginativeness is indispensable for him, helium says. His intelligence toughness mightiness beryllium his top attribute.

“He plays the champion tennis erstwhile helium needs to, which a batch of players don’t,” said Zverev, the Tokyo Olympics golden medalist and 2020 U.S. Open runner-up.

“Mentally, he’s the champion subordinate to ever play the game,” the 24-year-old German added. “Mentally, successful the astir important moments, I would alternatively play against anybody other but him.”

Djokovic, naturally, loves that assessment.

He built that estimation by coming done erstwhile it matters the most, careless of what deficits helium has to woody with. Djokovic’s triumph implicit Zverev made him 36-10 successful five-setters for his vocation and was his 4th triumph successful a enactment — 10th successful a Grand Slam lucifer this twelvemonth — aft dropping the opening set.

“Players cognize there’s a never-die tone with me, particularly erstwhile I play Grand Slams. They cognize that until the past shot, things tin crook around, which was the lawsuit successful respective occasions passim my career,” Djokovic said. “So I’m gladsome that my opponents deliberation of maine that way. I privation them to consciousness that they are nether utmost pressure.”

Now it’s Medvedev’s crook to woody with that successful the 4th No. 1 vs. No. 2 last successful New York successful the past 25 years — each involving Djokovic.

The lucifer sets up arsenic thing of a bookend: It was Medvedev who mislaid to Djokovic successful the Australian Open last 7 months ago.

If Medvedev wins, helium knows he’ll “probably beryllium successful the past books a small spot somewhere, (for) not letting him bash this. But I don’t truly attraction astir it. I deliberation it’s much astir him, that it affects him,” said the 25-year-old Russian, who is seeking his archetypal large trophy.

“From 1 side, for definite he’s going to consciousness the unit a small spot astir it,” Medvedev said. “From the different side, that is what is going to marque him beryllium adjacent amended successful pugnacious moments.”