Novak Djokovic was greeted like royalty in New York by the US Open 2023 crowd. But still, some minor quarrels between the Serb and some people from the crowd still occurred at this edition.
Nole is the protagonist of another ride to make history. He continues the adventure towards his eleventh final at the US Open, the 36th in a slam, chasing the 24th title. After the scare of the match with his compatriot Laslo Djere, against whom he had to come back two sets down, the 36-year-old Serbian is back to grinding tennis and dominating his opponents.
In the round of 16 he ruled the Croatian Borna Gojo, in the quarterfinals he canceled the landlord Taylor Fritz with a score of 6-1 6-4 6-4, obtaining the eighth success in as many matches against the American tennis player.
The New York crowd paid him a great love. What Djokovic has always wanted from the beginning along with his successes: recognition, as happened to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. And it is a deserved conquest.
Djokovic spent years of his career being the best tennis player, while crowds cheered on his two great rivals. Now Roger has retired, Nadal is out due to injury. The crowds have understood that they need a great champion with great charisma, and Djokovic is just that.
The crowd knows it, and now they pour out their love for him. Of course, there are disagreements with some people, it happened and is happening in New York as well. Universal love probably doesn’t exist for anyone, but now the Serb has the awareness of having achieved what he fought so hard for.
Nole’s words at the press conference
At the press conference, the Serbian analyzed the match and talked about the spat with a fan in the stands who rather made him nervous.
Djokovic commented on the match: “I think it was a great match again. We both struggled a lot from a physical point of view, especially in the first set, set and a half. We sweated a lot due to the very humid conditions. Taylor played very good tennis in this tournament, but I was very determined.
I knew I had a clear understanding of what I had to do on the court. The first set ended 6-1 but I think it lasted almost an hour. Then, you know, in the second set it seemed to me that he started playing better, making fewer mistakes, serving better, playing points better.
So I didn’t want him to win the third set, because then the crowd would go wild even more and it would become more difficult for me to handle him. In the crucial moments I think I managed to stay focused and find the right shots, always making him play one more shot.
Make it run. I know that in travel is not very comfortable with him. I’m really satisfied with how I played. I care about this profession and I take it very seriously.
I know many other players do this too. We expect maximum dedication and, I believe, maximum involvement from our team members, just as our team members and coaching staff expect it from us.
In the heat of battle, of course you can do a lot of different things in the field. But overall we are a team, we stick together through good times and bad and I am grateful to have the team I have. We’ve had great success over the last few years, especially the last two.
Someone disturbed me! It was actually in the box where some of my friends were. I don’t know who it was, but I was pretty annoyed with him at that point. I was communicating with my friends to have a chat with him. People talk, they move. You have to be ready for this, especially at the US Open, especially in the night sessions. Its part of the game. But sometimes he is under stress at a decisive moment, everything annoys you and distracts you, and then you react. I’m actually happy that the public wants to participate, because it means that the match is interesting, that they’re having fun.”