Novak Djokovic recently shared an honest confession that engulfed him in the aftermath of his Wimbledon final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz last season.
Djokovic, who played in all four Grand Slam finals in 2023, finished with a 27-1 record, winning the Australian Open for a record 10th time and the French Open for a third time in the first half of the season. Djokovic became the first man to triumph at all four Slams at least three times.
The Serbian’s Grand Slam season ended with a landmark win at the US Open, where he won his 24th Grand Slam, the most by any man in singles. His solitary defeat in a major last season was in the final of Wimbledon, where an inspired Alcaraz stunned him in five sets.
Speaking on 60 Minutes, Djokovic admitted that the loss annoyed him so much that he had to win “everything” on US soil when he rejoined the tour from his month-long break. The 36-year-old didn’t play in Toronto due to fatigue but had an unblemished record during the US swing.
Jon Wertheim, interviewing Djokovic, tells the Serb that even though the defeat at SW19 was disappointing, it only spurred him to know the magnitude of the talent he is facing. Djokovic never lost another ATP match until the ATP Finals and pipped Alcaraz to the year-end No. 1 ranking.
“Yes, absolutely, it was (disappointing). And you’re right because that pissed me off so much (laugh) that I needed to win everything on American soil, which I did.”
Djokovic avenged his Wimbledon loss to the Spaniard (which was the first time he had lost on the Centre Court in 10 years) by beating him in that remarkable Cincinnati final, which lasted three hours and 49 minutes – the longest best-of-three set final in ATP history.
Not only that, but he conquered seven opponents, including the World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev – who denied him the Calendar Grand Slam two years ago – with a performance of supreme dominance to tie Margaret Court’s all-time Grand Slam singles record.
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