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Novak Djokovic has bad news for Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and all the other grand slam hopefuls: \u201cI\u2019m going to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Djokovic secured a record 24th grand slam title when he beat Medvedev in three gruelling sets to win the US Open.<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old capped another dominant year, during which he won the Australian and French Opens and was runner-up to Alcaraz at Wimbledon, by becoming the oldest champion at Flushing Meadows in the Open era.<\/p>\n
Even Medvedev, whose challenge ended after he lost a marathon 104-minute second set, asked: \u201cWhat are you still doing here? I mean come on.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Djokovic insisted: \u201cI\u2019m going to keep going. You know, I feel good in my own body. I still feel I\u2019ve got the support of my environment, of my team, of my family.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe grand slams, I have said in the last few years, have been always the highest goal and the priority of mine in the whole season. I don\u2019t play as much in terms of other tournaments, so I try to prioritise my preparation so that I can peak in slams.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the moments and these are the kind of emotions that I motivate myself with every single day when I\u2019m not playing a tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, occasionally I ask myself \u2018why do I need this still at this stage after all I have done, you know? How long do I want to keep going?\u2019 I do have these questions in my head, of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut knowing that I play at such a high level still, and I win the biggest tournaments in this sport, I don\u2019t want to leave this sport if I\u2019m still at the top, you know, if I\u2019m still playing the way I\u2019m playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A Medvedev double-fault and a blistering backhand winner down the line gave Djokovic the early break point which he converted to love to subsequently take the first set in a relatively speedy 48 minutes.<\/p>\n
But Medvedev, returning from about a quarter-of-a-mile behind the baseline, made Djokovic toil in the second set and it began to show with the favourite showing signs of fatigue.<\/p>\n
After an hour and three quarters he produced his first break point of the match but Djokovic, with an obvious change of game plan in a bid to shorten the points, expertly snuffed it out with a big serve and an immaculate volley.<\/p>\n
Medvedev had set point on the Djokovic serve but another volley at the net dealt with that, and when tie-break slipped away from the 27-year-old, the match soon followed as Djokovic moved level with Margaret Court\u2019s record of major titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second set was the best set I played and I didn\u2019t win it,\u201d said Russian third seed Medvedev.<\/p>\n
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\u201cSo that\u2019s why it\u2019s normal that the match went that way, because first and third he was kind of better. The second, if I would win it, maybe it could have been a different game.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, that\u2019s how life is and how tennis is. So I\u2019m going to try to be better next time.\u201d<\/p>\n