Djokovic Ties Men's Tennis Record, Ready for More
2023-01-31
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1Novak Djokovic is once again the top-ranked tennis player in the world.
2 And he has no plans to give up the top spot anytime soon.
3The Serbian star's victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece was his 10th Australian Open championship.
4The win also tied him with Rafael Nadal of Spain for the men's record of 22 Grand Slam championships.
5The Australian Open is the first of the four yearly Grand Slam championships, followed by the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open.
6After his victory, Djokovic said, "I still have lots of motivation. Let's see how far it takes me. I really don't want to stop here."
7He added, "I feel great about my tennis. I know that when I'm feeling good physically, (and) mentally present, I have a chance to win any Slam against anybody."
8Djokovic could not play in last year's Australian Open after being deported for not being vaccinated against COVID-19.
9This year, he had to deal with a leg injury.
10And he had to deal with questions about his father being seen in photos with supporters of Russia.
11After the victory, a crying Djokovic said he was "emotionally collapsed."
12He told the crowd that it took a lot of mental energy, but he wanted to see how far he could go.
13Djokovic, along with Nadal and Roger Federer of Switzerland are often called "the Big Three" in tennis.
14From 2003 to 2023, they won 64 of the last 77 Grand Slams.
15In the modern game, only Roger Federer has won a Grand Slam past the age of 35.
16In 2018, Federer won the last of his 20 Slams at age 36.
17The following year, at the age of 37, Federer was only one point away from winning Wimbledon but lost to Djokovic in one of Wimbledon's greatest matches.
18Federer is now 41 and retired. Nadal is 36 and he withdrew from the Australian Open this year because of an injury.
19As Djokovic is turning 36 in May, tennis fans are questioning how much longer Djokovic can keep winning the Grand Slams.
20"Definitely two, three more years," said Goran Ivanisevic, the 2001 Wimbledon champion who has coached Djokovic since 2019.
21"The way he's taking care of his body, the way he (approaches) everything . . .it's amazing."
22But there are young players competing for the top spot.
23Last year, Spain's Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest-ever world number one at age 19 after winning the U.S. Open.
24A leg injury kept Alcaraz from this year's Australian Open.
25Djokovic was also not permitted to play in the U.S. Open last year for not being vaccinated against COVID-19.
26No decision has been made for this year's U.S. Open.
27But the Serbian is considered among the favorites to win the French and Wimbledon championships.
28"Physically, I can keep myself fit. Of course, 35 is not 25, even though I want to believe it is," Djokovic said.
29"But I still feel there is time ahead of me. Let's see how far I go."
30I'm Andrew Smith.
1Novak Djokovic is once again the top-ranked tennis player in the world. And he has no plans to give up the top spot anytime soon. 2The Serbian star's victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece was his 10th Australian Open championship. The win also tied him with Rafael Nadal of Spain for the men's record of 22 Grand Slam championships. The Australian Open is the first of the four yearly Grand Slam championships, followed by the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. 3After his victory, Djokovic said, "I still have lots of motivation. Let's see how far it takes me. I really don't want to stop here." He added, "I feel great about my tennis. I know that when I'm feeling good physically, (and) mentally present, I have a chance to win any Slam against anybody." 4Djokovic could not play in last year's Australian Open after being deported for not being vaccinated against COVID-19. This year, he had to deal with a leg injury. And he had to deal with questions about his father being seen in photos with supporters of Russia. 5After the victory, a crying Djokovic said he was "emotionally collapsed." He told the crowd that it took a lot of mental energy, but he wanted to see how far he could go. 6Djokovic, along with Nadal and Roger Federer of Switzerland are often called "the Big Three" in tennis. From 2003 to 2023, they won 64 of the last 77 Grand Slams. 7In the modern game, only Roger Federer has won a Grand Slam past the age of 35. In 2018, Federer won the last of his 20 Slams at age 36. The following year, at the age of 37, Federer was only one point away from winning Wimbledon but lost to Djokovic in one of Wimbledon's greatest matches. 8Federer is now 41 and retired. Nadal is 36 and he withdrew from the Australian Open this year because of an injury. 9As Djokovic is turning 36 in May, tennis fans are questioning how much longer Djokovic can keep winning the Grand Slams. 10"Definitely two, three more years," said Goran Ivanisevic, the 2001 Wimbledon champion who has coached Djokovic since 2019. "The way he's taking care of his body, the way he (approaches) everything . . .it's amazing." 11But there are young players competing for the top spot. Last year, Spain's Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest-ever world number one at age 19 after winning the U.S. Open. A leg injury kept Alcaraz from this year's Australian Open. 12Djokovic was also not permitted to play in the U.S. Open last year for not being vaccinated against COVID-19. No decision has been made for this year's U.S. Open. But the Serbian is considered among the favorites to win the French and Wimbledon championships. 13"Physically, I can keep myself fit. Of course, 35 is not 25, even though I want to believe it is," Djokovic said. "But I still feel there is time ahead of me. Let's see how far I go." 14I'm Andrew Smith. 15Howard Fendrich wrote this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 16________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18rank -n. position in a scale relative to others 19motivation -n. the desire to do something or accomplish certain goals 20deport -v. a governmental action forcing a person out of the country and returning them to their own country of origin 21match -n. an athletic competition between two individuals or teams 22fit -adj. characterized by having high levels of strength, speed, and endurance 23________________________________________________________________ 24We want to hear from you. 25We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.