“I am very excited to come back to the country after two years,” confided Novak Djokovic, Sunday, in a press conference, saying to himself “grateful for all the love” which he receives in the United States, where he has not played for two years for lack of being vaccinated against Covid-19.
Almost a month after his loss in the Wimbledon final to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the Serb is preparing to return to competition at the Cincinnati Masters 1000, which he won in 2018 and 2020. “I think I can choose with total freedom where I want to play”he explained.
The “Djoker” is more determined than ever as the US Open approaches, the last Grand Slam of the year (August 28 – September 10): “After almost twenty years on the circuit, I still have this inner flame that drives me to fight for big goals. I want to keep winning tournaments. »
The place of world number 1 in the viewfinder
“I need to get back to my level as soon as possible and be ready to give my best for the thrilling challenges ahead of me.continued the world number 2. If I wasn’t motivated, I would stop playing. » Among these challenges: regaining the lead in the ATP rankings from Carlos Alcaraz, whom he could find in the final in Cincinnati.
Committed in doubles Tuesday with his compatriot Nikola Cacic, the 36-year-old player will start his singles tournament on Wednesday, facing the winner of the match between the recent semi-finalist in Toronto Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina and the Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
