Novak Djokovic has exited SW19 as a trophy-less champion for the first time in last 6 years. Entering an uncharted territory from the grass, the Serb has yet to decide on where he will be playing next.
The Serb who was unbeaten at the Wimbledon Center Court since 2013, finally passed the baton to Spanish prodigy Carlos Alcaraz who went on to defeat the 23-time Slam Champion in the five sets of an electrifying final to clinch the golden-ware.
Reportedly, Novak is gearing up to return to US hardcourt swing for the first time in 2 years after the government has lifted the mandatory vaccine requirements for those arriving in the country. Following his Wimbledon final loss, Djokovic confirmed that he looks forward to resume his work in New York (US Open).
“I am looking forward to coming back to New York,” said Serb who has three US Open titles under his belt with the last one coming 5 years ago in 2018.
Djokovic continued, “Throughout my career, I’ve played my best on hard courts, although grass has become my favorite surface too in the last five, six years. But overall, considering tournaments where I’ve been most successful – it is hard courts.”
“I’ve played a lot of finals in New York. I lost the last one to [Daniil] Medvedev, but I received a lot of love from the crowd, which wasn’t the case in the past. I left New York with that image in my head, so I am really looking forward to going back.”
The 23-time Grand Slam also shared his regret on losing the 2021 final to Daniil Medvedev when he was bidding to become third man in the history to complete the Calendar Slam.
Djokovic’s Potential route to US Open 2023
The Wimbledon runner up has officially opted out of the Toronto Masters to recover from the Paris and Wimbledon majors. He last participated in the Masters 1000 Canadian Open in 2018 where he was handed a 3rd round defeat. Recovering from fatigue, Djokovic plans to play at Cincinnati Open (Western and Southern Open) in the second week of August before starting his US Open campaign in the last week of the same month.