Novak Djokovic’s loss in the US Open final on Sunday denied him a calendar-year Grand Slam, but the Serbian world number one says he is just happy his chase for perfection was finally over.
Djokovic was left in tears after his taxing bid – both physically and emotionally – to become the first man since 1969 to win the year’s four Grand Slam ended in a surprisingly one-sided loss to Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev.
Asked how he felt afterwards, the 34-year-old said: “Relief. I was glad it was over because the build up for this tournament and everything that mentally, emotionally I had to deal with throughout the tournament in the last couple of weeks was just a lot... to handle.”
From the outset, Djokovic was unable to match the level brought by Medvedev, who got stronger as the match progressed except for a few late nerves while trying to wrap up his first Grand Slam title 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.