Novak Djokovic the US Open 'underdog' claims former British No.1

August 22, 2023

ATP Tennis Players, British Tennis Players, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Tennis News, US Open Tennis

Novak Djokovic the US Open ‘underdog’ claims former British No.1

Novak Djokovic has been labelled as the ‘underdog in New York’ by Olympic silver medallist Laura Robson, despite the Serb coming off the back of a victory over Carlos Alcaraz.

Djokovic claimed his 95th career title in Cincinnati, after saving a championship point to get revenge from his Wimbledon defeat to the world No.1.

An EPIC 3 hour & 49 minute BATTLE #CincyTennis | @CreditOneBank pic.twitter.com/BcwNx9zpNu

— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 21, 2023

Robson still believes that the 23-time Grand Slam champion is the underdog at the US Open, and that it will benefit him in terms of support from the New York crowd.

“So often the crowd like to go against him for whatever reason and I thought it was nice in a way to see how emotional he was at Wimbledon or how frustrated he got because you don’t often see that from him and it just shows that he cares so much after winning so much in his life,” explained Robson.

The former British No.1 continued, “Winning all there is to have won and yet it still matters this much to him. So I feel like maybe he won a couple people over that day.

“And maybe he might be almost a bit more of an underdog in New York and the New York fans love to get behind anyone who’s not winning, basically. So maybe things will come round for him. I can’t really see a reason to not like him, or at least to not enjoy his tennis and accept that actually, he is the best in the world.”

It will be the first time that Djokovic will play the final major of the year since 2021, when he was prevented from achieving a historic Calendar Slam by Daniil Medvedev.

The 36-year-old will look to achieve more history in New York this year, as he looks to equal Margaret Court’s record of winning 24 major singles titles.

This is something that Robson would like Djokovic to do, “I think I would like to see him get to 24. You know, the numbers are crazy, no matter which way you look at them.

“The fact that he’s even competing for 24 is absurd, and I think it would be great for tennis to have him as a 24-time Grand Slam champion – there’s sort of no conversation left to be had about in terms of numbers, who is the greatest of all time.”

Robson concluded, “I can never see anyone replicating what he’s been able to do over his career. I’d like to see him get to 24, and I’d love to see a bit of a rivalry unfold with Alcaraz because they seem to bring out the best in each other.”

Djokovic will attempt to win his fourth US Open title when the tournament begins on Monday 28th August.