I still have desire to compete with young guys: Novak Djokovic

Ahead of his match with Cameron Norrie in the third round of the US Open, Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic underlined that he continues to enjoy playing against the new generation.

It has been almost two years since Djokovic last won a Grand Slam, the last major he had won being at Flushing Meadows in 2023. Since then, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have won the last seven majors, and Djokovic's chase for a record 25th Grand Slam becomes more difficult by the day.

Following a straight-sets win over rising American Learner Tien in the opening round, Djokovic required four sets to defeat Zachary Svajda, eventually prevailing 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in just over two-and-a-half hours.

“I wasn’t really happy with my tennis for the first part of the match,” he commented after committing 14 unforced errors against Svajda, who was hindered by cramps in the latter stages.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion was asked on court if he felt that round-by-round improvements were likely. "That's what I'm hoping, that was the case for most of my Grand Slam career,” he said. “The deeper I go in the tournament, the better I feel about my game."

Asked if he’d “come in cold” to the season-ending Grand Slam, Djokovic noted, “Obviously I didn't have any matches since Wimbledon, so it is the right term in a sense, but I have put in a lot of training in last three, four weeks.

“I decided not to play because I wanted to spend more time with my family. And to be honest, you know, I think I earned my right and have the luxury of kind of choosing, picking and choosing where I want to go and what I want to play.”

Now almost exclusively targeting Slam success, Djokovic does so with full intensity. “There is always something to prove once you step out onto the court, which is you're still able to win a tennis match,” he noted of his enduring motivation.

“I still love the feeling of competition, the drive that I feel on the court. You know, I get really hard on myself a lot of the times because I expect myself to play always at the highest level, which is obviously not always possible.

“But, you know, I still have desire to compete with the young guys, you know. Otherwise I wouldn't be here playing.”