Jimmy
Connors dismissed the idea that
Novak Djokovic had low expectations for his
participation in the
US Open. The Serbian player had a surprising exit in the
third round of the tournament against the 28th seed Alexei Popyrin, despite
being one of the favorites after winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games.
The
American 8-time Grand Slam champion spoke on his podcast "Served with
Connors," which he shares with his son Brett Connors. Brett commented on
Djokovic's exit: “When he got that medal and maybe relaxed a little,
celebrated, had some fun, went to Serbia, hung out with his family and friends.
He didn’t play any warm-up events.”
“So do you
think his expectations coming in might not have been that high? He’s still
probably reveling in the Olympic gold medal,” Brett added.
Jimmy
Connors disagreed with his son's opinion and argued that Nole would have
expected to win the title: “That (the Olympics) certainly was an accomplishment
and the one that was on his bucket list,” said the American. “He’s won
everything else, hasn’t he? But I don’t think, especially at this time, when
he’s getting older and like everybody else, there’s gonna be an end, I don’t
think he’d ever come in not expecting the best of himself.
“Even
though he did maybe celebrate a little bit and have some fun, I still think
when he ties those shoelaces, he expects to come in and be what he’s been all
these years — and that’s a winner,” Connors added. “But I will go back and say
that (the Olympics) was a priority and to come off of that and to have won it
like he did, probably made him have a different attitude towards a lot of
things. But I don’t think he ever wants to cut himself short.”
The former
world No. 1 also considered that Djokovic's elimination, along with Carlos
Alcaraz's exit in the second round, opens up the draw for a good opportunity
for American players: “I mean, they are young, they are big, they are strong
and before I would say they didn’t have quite a healthy experience, but they do
now know what it is like to get into the second week of a Grand Slam,” Connors
added.
“You can’t
win the tournament in the first week, but you can certainly lose it. Now, they
made it into the second week. This is when you separate the top from the rest,”
Connors added. “With those four guys, Djokovic is out, and Carlos is out, that
opens up a whole lot of space for a lot of guys to come through. What an
opportunity with those two guys out!”