NEW YORK – Novak Djokovic wants to see someone challenge the reign of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz: “There are players that are able to have that Djoker spot.”
“I kind of empathize with the third guy, because I was in those shoes with Federer and Nadal. I want to see a third guy coming in,” said the 24-time Grand Slam champion, four of them in the United States.
The Serbian won his first major tournament in 2008, but it was in 2011 when he really broke into the top of tennis, gradually taking over almost all the records previously held by the Swiss or the Spaniard.
He was that third element who inserted himself into a story of two. At the time, his performances on the court were gaining attention, as were his imitations of other players and his particular sense of humor, which earned him in the late 2000s and early 2010s the nickname The Djoker, a play on his surname that reflects his playful character.
Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated the tour without much resistance over the past two years: between them, they have won the last seven Grand Slams.
“Hopefully somebody can get in the mix. You know, Rune was there, and he kind of goes up and down. Fonseca,” said the Serbian.
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On a global sports stage, these are the types of encounters and rivalries people get very excited about. In individual sports like ours, boxing, Formula 1, golf—whatever it is—people love to see rivalries. “I think their rivalry is, without a doubt, the best one we have in the moment. And it looks like it’s going to stay like that for some time,” he stated.
Before that “Djoker” appears, the Serbian aims in New York to be the one to break the streak of the world number one and two, thereby winning his twenty-fifth Grand Slam title, which would make him the sole record holder of all time.
