Despite the fact that Novak Djokovic will end the season without winning a Grand Slam, Lindsay Davenport, a previous winner, sees a bright side to the early US Open exit.
The legendary tennis player Lindsay Davenport says she is “happy” that Novak Djokovic was eliminated early from the US Open because it will give him some much-needed relaxation.
After winning at Flushing Meadows in 1998, Davenport went on to forecast that the Serb will win “two or three” Grand Slams in 2025, bringing his total to a record-tying 25.
On August 31, Djokovic was shocked to lose to Alexei Popyrin in the US Open third round. The 37-year-old, who captured the Grand Slam in 2023, lost 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 and Jannik Sinner emerged victorious, calling the match “some of the worst tennis” he has ever played.
The fact that Djokovic finished the year without winning a Grand Slam for the first time since 2017 may have infuriated and alarmed some of his most devoted fans. However, Davenport, a former tennis sensation from America, disclosed that she was content with his early leaving.
The three-time Grand Slam winner, 48, believes Djokovic will be better for it after being given a rare opportunity to rest. She told Serbian website SportKlub last week: “I’m surprised he lost so early, but in a strange way, I’m happy for him.
“After everything he’s done, it hasn’t been easy for him to play another major tournament since mid-May. I really want him to rest well and play the way he wants to for the rest of the season.
We always forget that Novak is 37 and has been on tour for 20 years. He knows and feels it. He needs time to enjoy himself, celebrate and then get ready for Australia. I think next year he’ll be able to win two or three Grand Slams.”
Djokovic won three Grand Slams last year but was knocked out in the semis, the quarters and the final of the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon respectively this year.
Still, the Serb emerged from the hectic summer schedule an Olympic champion, having beaten Carlos Alcaraz in Paris to win his first long-awaited gold medal.
“I was delighted when he won the gold medal in Paris,” Davenport stated. I have no doubt that he would have chosen the Olympic gold if you had asked him which he would have preferred—winning one of the four Grand Slam events this year or the gold. “Without a question, this is the greatest tennis moment of the year.
More than anything in the world, he desired it more than everyone else. And he accomplished all of this following surgery and his Wimbledon final defeat. This only highlights his brilliance.”
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