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NEW YORK: Novak Djokovic, brimming with excitement over his Olympic triumph, plans to break a new Grand Slam record at the US Open starting on Monday, while his title rival Jannik Sinner arrived in New York under the spotlight following two positive doping tests.
If defending champion Djokovic can win a fifth title, he will become the tournament’s oldest champion in the Open era, a record he would share with Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.
The 37-year-old will also reach 25 Grand Slam titles, surpassing the 24 he currently shares with Margaret Court.
The final Grand Slam of the year comes at a crucial time for Djokovic.
This year, Sinner succeeded him as Australian Open champion and also replaced him as world number one.
Carlos Alcaraz won the French Open with a stellar performance and then defeated Djokovic in a dominant manner in the Wimbledon final.
However, Djokovic returned to the clay courts of Roland Garros and defeated Alcaraz in the Olympic final.
His thrilling victory in Paris made him just the fifth player to complete the Golden Slam of all four majors and win Olympic gold.
The win also quieted the growing skeptics who had thought the Serb was a spent force, and in this new era, Sinner, 23, and Alcaraz, 21, are steadily moving to center stage.
Djokovic, who underwent right knee surgery in June, described the Olympic triumph as his “greatest sporting success”.
This is also his 99th championship in his career.
Russian athlete Daniil Medvedev celebrates after winning the ATP World Tournament. — Reuters
– ‘Biggest success’ –
“I’m 37 years old, facing probably the best player in the world right now, and at 21 years old, winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back, I can say that this is probably the greatest sporting success I’ve ever had,” Djokovic stressed.
Sinner heads into the final major of the season having won the Cincinnati Masters.
However, that victory was quickly overshadowed by the fact that he twice tested positive for banned substances earlier in the season and was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing.
Sinner tested positive for clostebol, an anabolic drug strictly banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
But he escaped a lengthy ban after officials accepted his explanation that the substance entered his system through contamination from a member of his support team.
“I am now putting this challenging and extremely unfortunate period behind me,” Sinner said.
Australian player Nick Kyrgios criticised the decision to allow him to continue as “ridiculous”.
Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title at the 2022 US Open but was dealt a severe blow after losing to Djokovic in the Olympic final.
He broke down in tears on the pitch and admitted he felt he had “let Spain down”.
Alcaraz was eliminated by Gael Monfils in the second round in Cincinnati, and the usually calm and composed Alcaraz broke his racket on court, which did not help his preparations for New York.
– ‘Worst match ever’ –
He described the loss as the “worst game” of his career.
Coco Gauff is the defending champion in the women’s singles at the US Open, but the 20-year-old has been in a worrying slump in recent weeks.
After being eliminated in the third round of the Olympics, they suffered early defeats in Toronto and Cincinnati.
No woman has successfully defended her U.S. Open title since Serena Williams in 2014.
Five-time Grand Slam champion and world number one Iga Swiatek, the 2022 New York champion, reached the Cincinnati semifinals but was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka lost to Gauff in the final at last year’s US Open and finished second.
— AFP
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