“After Wimbledon, everyone was saying it was a changing of the guard it but wasn’t for me”- Andy Murray says Novak Djokovic won’t stop at 24 Slams
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray recently said Novak Djokovic won't settle for just 24 Grand Slams and that he has an insatiable hunger for more. Murray also mentioned that, contrary to what others believed, he didn't see Djokovic's Wimbledon loss as a passing of the torch.
Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev in the 2023 US Open final on Sunday, September 10. With the win he joined Margaret Court at 24 Grand Slams, the most in the history of the sport.
While taking to BBC Sport on the eve of Great Britain's Davis Cup campaign, Andy Murray explained why he didn't think Novak Djokovic's hard-fought loss to Carlos Alcaraz at SW19 was a sign of things to come.
"I said that after Wimbledon, everyone was saying it was a changing of the guard, but it wasn't for me. It was quite clear Novak had won two of the first three Slams and was very, very close in the final of Wimbledon,” he said.
Murray then cited the Serb’s US Open victory to claim that the young crop of players would need to step up in order to dethrone Novak Djokovic.
"He proved that he's the best player in the world again yesterday and like I said it's up to the youngsters to improve enough to take him,” Murray said.
The Scot added that Djokovic will not stop at 24 Slams, before admitting that a few circumstances could possibly hinder his performance. While praising Carlos Alcaraz, Murray suggested that the Spaniard needs to improve his consistency in order to compete like Novak Djokovic.
"I don't think he's going to stop at 24 titles but you never know how long it will last. Physically, motivation, whether someone like Alcaraz improves - he's an amazing player Alcaraz, he's brilliant, but to do what Novak is doing on a consistent basis is different,” he said.
Novak Djokovic takes a trip down memory lane
After conquering Daniil Medvedev on Sunday at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Novak Djokovic shed some light on the joy of creating history.
“To make history of this sport is just something truly remarkable and special,” he said in the on-court interview. “Obviously, in every in every possible way, in every possible meaning of the word special. It's hard to describe in words.”
The 36-year-old further said winning the Wimbledon Championship was his only dream back in the day, and that he never thought he would end up racking up a whopping 24 Major titles.
“I had the childhood dream when I was seven, eight. I wanted to become the best player in the world and win the Wimbledon trophy. That was the only thing I wanted. But then when I realized that, obviously I started to dream new dreams and set new objectives, new goals. I never imagined that I would be here standing with you talking about 24 Slams,” the Serb added.