Novak Djokovic has been dubbed as underdog at the US Open by former British #1 Laura Robson despite the Serbia completing his title charge against Carlos Alcaraz at Cincinnati Open in a sensational three-set clash.
The 23-time Grand Slam Champion claimed his 95th career title and record extending 39th Masters 1000 crown after saving a championship point to serve Spaniard the revenge of his 5-set Wimbledon defeat earlier in July.
The Olympic Silver medalist suggests the 36-year old will be an underdog at the Flushing Meadows which will be helpful for him in terms of drawing support from the rowdy US Open crowd.
“So often the crowd like to go against him for whatever reason and I thought it was nice in a way to see how emotional he was at Wimbledon or how frustrated he got because you don’t often see that from him and it just shows that he cares so much after winning so much in his life,” explained Robson.
Robson continued, “Winning all there is to have won and yet it still matters this much to him. So I feel like maybe he won a couple people over that day.
“And maybe he might be almost a bit more of an underdog in New York and the New York fans love to get behind anyone who’s not winning, basically. So maybe things will come round for him. I can’t really see a reason to not like him, or at least to not enjoy his tennis and accept that actually, he is the best in the world.”
Djokovic is playing the US Open for the first time since 2021, when he was stopped by Medvedev from completing the coveted historic Calendar Slam.
The 3-time US Champion will bid to achieve more success in New York as he looks to draw Margaret Court’s record of 24 major singles titles and Robson backs Djokovic to achieve the feat.
“I think I would like to see him get to 24. You know, the numbers are crazy, no matter which way you look at them.
“The fact that he’s even competing for 24 is absurd, and I think it would be great for tennis to have him as a 24-time Grand Slam champion – there’s sort of no conversation left to be had about in terms of numbers, who is the greatest of all time.”
Robson concluded, “I can never see anyone replicating what he’s been able to do over his career. I’d like to see him get to 24, and I’d love to see a bit of a rivalry unfold with Alcaraz because they seem to bring out the best in each other.”
Novak Djokovic at US Open
After conquering Cincinnati, World No. 2, having a win-loss record of 86% (81-13) at the New York, will certainly try hard to repeat another victorious run to get equal with Margaret Court, a record Serena Williams couldn’t attain despite multiple attempts. US Open starts on Monday, Aug 28. The 7-time Wimbledon Champion and 10-time Australian Open Champion holds a joint least successful record at US Open and French Open with 3 titles in the each. Here is how he fared at the final Slam of the year over the years:
2005 – R3
2006 – R3
2007 – Final
2008 – Semifinal
2009 – Semifinal
2010 – Final
2011 – Champion
2012 – Final
2013 – Final
2014 – Semifinal
2015 – Champion
2016 – Final
2018 – Champion
2019 – R4
2020 – R4 (Disqualification)
2021 – Final