Novak Djokovic needs new goals in tennis. Can the US Open offer them to him?

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NEW YORK – What motivates Novak Djokovic now that there is nothing left for him to fight for?

The 24-time Grand Slam champion finally won his coveted Olympic gold medal in Paris this month, essentially putting the finishing touches on tennis and securing the sport’s only coveted title that had previously eluded him. Djokovic has other goals, such as a 25th Grand Slam title that would put him ahead of Australia’s Margaret Court, but the Olympic gold was the true high point for a player who has amassed trophies like interest.

Lately, that hasn’t been the case. When he arrived in New York, his name wasn’t engraved on any of the three majors for the first time in 14 years.

The most interesting thing is that he has been here before.

In 2016, Djokovic finally won the French Open in Paris, completing the career Grand Slam and becoming the second male player in the Open Era after Rod Laver to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously.

It felt like he would dominate tennis forever. Instead, he lost to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon and then went two years without winning a major tournament. During that time, he had to undergo elbow surgery and experienced some completely uncharacteristic surprises – the mother of all declines.

“I wasn’t in the right place mentally,” he said later.

In 2024, early signs suggest he’s working to avoid a repeat. Asked about his motivation before the tournament began, Djokovic spoke about his rivalries with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, his lobbying with the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and his belief in his competitiveness. There’s not much to be learned from a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 first-round win over underdog Radu Albot, but Djokovic – and the rest of the tennis world – could learn more from what awaits him on Wednesday. He faces fellow countryman Laslo Djere, in a repeat of their fourth-round meeting in 2023. Djokovic trailed by two sets but eventually won in five sets en route to the title.

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Djokovic is in a strange position right now. He’s just had what he calls the “biggest success” of his career, but overall his season is more of a low point than a high point. Despite beating Alcaraz to win the Olympic gold, Djokovic has lost to the Spaniard in two consecutive Wimbledon finals. Sinner overwhelmed him at the Australian Open, an event where he previously seemed invincible. The rivalries that motivate him have not been going according to plan recently.

Novak Djokovic’s problems date back to his clay court career. (Filippo Monteforte / AFP via Getty Images)

That could help Djokovic. He finally has two younger rivals at his level and he will be desperate to get back to the top of the sport and beat them like he has done with so many other players over the past decade. He may be the US Open champion, but here in New York it is reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz who has the biggest target on his back. Sinner, not Djokovic, is the world No. 1.

Djokovic loves nothing more than proving a point and silencing those who have written him off. This is not like June 2016, when it looked almost too easy for Djokovic to dominate the sport of tennis as he turned the “Big Four” into the “Big One.”

Just over eight years ago, there was not even the slightest hint that Djokovic’s motivation would wane. Looking back, it may seem obvious that reaching the Holy Grail of tennis could trigger a lull, but at the time, this was not foreseeable.

Looking back at his pre-Wimbledon press conferences, Djokovic was not asked if he would set new goals for himself. It was only when he suffered the seismic shock of a loss to American Sam Querrey that the topic came up.

Novak Djokovic’s defeat against American Sam Querrey at Wimbledon is one of the biggest shocks in recent tournament history. (Adrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images)

“It is of course an incredible feeling to be able to hold four Grand Slams at the same time,” Djokovic said that summer.

“When I came to Wimbledon, I knew of course that it would not be easy mentally to motivate myself again.”

Djokovic has since spoken of having gone through an existential crisis during this time.

“I went through a phase where I was really taking care of myself off the court,” he later recalled. There were a few rain stoppages during the loss to Querrey, and Djokovic remembers asking his team to leave him alone in a room during one of those stoppages.

“I just looked at the wall and I felt dizzy. I literally had no energy left,” he said.

In a 2018 interview, he added that the injuries he suffered in the middle of the previous year happened when he was experiencing “a certain emotional imbalance.” He split from Boris Becker at the end of 2016 and had disbanded his team during the 2017 clay court season in an attempt to regain his will to win. Djokovic even considered retiring as his motivation had completely disappeared.

He was now able to view this difficult time as a valuable learning experience. He even said he was “super happy” to have gone through it.

If there was ever a time when this experience could be useful, it is now.

At 37 and just months after knee surgery, physical rather than mental challenges may be the biggest obstacles to Djokovic’s quest for renewed dominance. “I have no limitations in my mind,” he said at Wimbledon. “I want to keep going and play as long as I feel I can play at this high level.”

At the homecoming celebration in Belgrade following the Olympic Games, Djokovic indicated that there was nothing left for him to win. “I feel fulfilled, complete, let’s celebrate!” he said. In the next breath, he opened up the possibility of playing into his 40s and defending his title at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

There are a few factors in his favor. His children are now at an age where they can see their father in action, which seems to be an additional inspiration. Djokovic cried in her arms in Paris and developed a new and knowing violin playing style for his daughter.

The Olympic gold was a reason to celebrate for the whole family. (Amin Mohammad Jamali / Getty Images)

But above all, he has the sport. The great thing about tennis is that even when you’ve already won everything, there are always new challenges to overcome. To develop new shots, to try out new tactics.

Against Albot on Monday, Djokovic certainly looked motivated as he pulled off some of his party tricks at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He managed to break serve after trailing 40-0. He hit the forehand harder than seemingly at any other point in his career. He sealed the second set with a second-serve ace. Why not? A second-round match against Djere on Wednesday might not quite be the Olympic gold medal match, but give Djokovic a court, an opponent and a crowd and he’ll still find something to prove.

(Top photo: Erick W. Rasco / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)