"She keeps inspiring" - Novak Djokovic on chasing Serena Williams' Open Era Grand Slam record
Novak Djokovic recently hailed Open Era Grand Slam title leader Serena Williams for gracing the sport for more than two decades and inspiring a generation of tennis players, including himself.
Djokovic is out of action after pulling out of the Indian Wells and Miami Masters owing to his COVID-19 vaccination stance. Under current rules, unvaccinated foreigners are not allowed entry to the US, and Djokovic's application for a medical exemption for both tournaments was rejected by authorities.
As a result of missing the year's first two Masters 1000 tournaments, the reigning Australian Open champion lost his World No. 1 ranking to Indian Wells winner Carlos Alcaraz.
Nevertheless, the Serb has no regrets about the same, as he reiterated that his main objective is to win Grand Slams. In an interview with CNN, the 35-year-old said:
"I really want to be playing there (in the US), want to be there. I actually had in 2021 when I lost in the finals (of US Open) against (Daniil) Medvedev, probably one of the best moments I ever had with the New York crowd."
With his tenth triumph at the Australian Open this year, Djokovic (22 Majors) moved to within one Major of Open Era leader Serena Williams (23 Majors). About the recently retired American, the Serb said:
“She keeps, keeps inspiring myself, all the tennis players around the world. And she’s been really an icon of our sport for so many years."
The Serb's only loss in 16 matches this year came against eventual winner Daniil Medvedev in the Dubai Championships semifinals.
"I want to reconnect with the crowd there" - Novak Djokovic on playing 2023 US Open
With the US government scheduled to relax their COVID-19 rules in May, the unvaccinated Djokovic is expected to feature at the US Open later this year.
The Serb has reached nine finals at the tournament - most recently in 2021 - when his bid for an elusive calendar Grand Slam was ended by Daniil Medvedev. Nevertheless, the three-time champion is yearning to be back in New York and reconnect with his fans.
Djokovic continued in the aforementioned interview:
"I’ve been fortunate to win that tournament three times, play many finals. And even though I lost that match, I received a lot of love and appreciation from people and I want to go back and I want to reconnect with the crowd there. So that’s something I’m looking forward to, and hopefully it will happen."
The Serb missed the 2022 edition of the tournament due to his vaccination stance.