Novak Djokovic insists his eyes are still firmly on beating Roger Federer’s Grand Slam record despite his shock retirement from the US Open 2019.
Djokovic’s hopes of a fourth title at Flushing Meadows came to a crashing halt when while trailing by two sets to love and a break he retired from his last 16 match against Stan Wawrinka due to a shoulder injury.
Before the match, the world No 1 said the injury had been affecting him for at least 10 days but he seemed to be fine during his third-round win over Denis Kudla.
But after receiving treatment before the start of the third set and then double-faulting to drop serve, the Serbian signalled to the umpire he was unable to continue against Wawrinka.
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It means a possible meeting with Roger Federer in the semi-finals is now off and opens the door for the Swiss to reach the final if he comes through Grigor Dimitrov and the winner of Wawrinka vs Daniil Medvedev.
Djokovic has been open about his desire to surpass Federer’s Grand Slam record of 20 but should the Swiss win in New York, the gap between the two men would expand to five.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal, who holds 18 Majors, has looked imperious through the first week of the tournament.
But speaking in his post-match press conference, Djokovic made clear there is still plenty of time and energy left in him to catch and beat Federer and Nadal.
He said: “Look, it’s no secret that I have, you know, of course desire and a goal to reach the most slams, you know, and reach Roger’s record.
“But at the same time, it’s a long road ahead hopefully for me. I hope I can play for many more years.
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“I’m planning to. I mean, I don’t see an end behind the corner at all.
“Now it’s a matter of keeping my body and mind in shape and trying to still peak at these kind of events that are majors and that are the most significant in our sport.”
But for now, Djokovic says he will leaning on the support of his family to get over the disappointment.
He said: “Obviously they are different roles that I have in my life, not just a tennis player.
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“Obviously going back to the fatherhood now will definitely help kind of redirect my thoughts on something that is obviously far more important for me. And being a husband and father, having a family is the biggest thing.
“But right now obviously I’m in the midst of an unfortunate situation, and I have to, you know, suffer the consequences of that.
“And as I said, I’m not the first nor the last one. Life goes on.”
