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The disappointment for the missed Grand Slam will be difficult to digest, but Novak Djokovic has shown that he knows how to get up even in the most delicate moments of his career and will not easily give up the race for the Grand Slam record, which he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The Serbian champion will be able to console himself by looking proudly at the numbers that have marked his 2021 and winking at a difficult season for any athlete to replicate. Djokovic has in fact won three Majors and reached the final at the US Open by signing an impressive 27/28 in the matches played on the most important stages of world tennis.
The only one to beat him in a Grand Slam this year was Daniil Medvedev. The Belgrade player has revealed that he still has no plans for this season finale, which could tie his fate once again to that of Federer and Nadal. Just like the Swiss and the Spaniard, with different motivations, we could see Djokovic on the court directly in 2022.
At the press conference, when asked to talk about his future commitments, the 20-time Grand Slam champion admitted: "To be honest, I don't have a plan, nothing at all. I don't know if I will play any tournaments or where. Right now, my head is only here: in New York.
Will Djokovic come back in 2022 like Federer and Nadal?
The Big 3? We want to continue to draw public attention to tennis as long as we can; I want to keep playing and try to win other Grand Slams and play for my country, these are my biggest motivations.
The Next Gen is now a consolidated reality, and will soon take the lead: I believe that tennis is in good hands, they are all good guys and great, great players, they have something to give both on and off the court. We all hope that this transition is simple and straightforward from the point of view of the popularity of tennis, this is a very important thing." Speaking to the Serbian media after the final, Djokovic also focused on his programming for the rest of the season.
He said: "Let me tell you the truth: I have no plans for the rest of 2021, absolutely nothing. To tell you the truth, I don't know if I'll be back on the pitch this year. My mind is still here in New York. I think I did everything in my power to get to this final in the best possible conditions.
I don't know if I could have done something different, but I doubt it. I simply faced a better player, who had more energy and vitality. Unfortunately my legs weren't cool, my tank was in reserve and it became impossible to contend with him for the victory. These are small nuances that make all the difference in the world at this level."