Novak Djokovic has admitted he felt an overwhelming sense of relief that his quest for a calendar year Grand Slam was finally over despite a brutal loss in the US Open final.
Djokovic was bidding to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to sweep all four majors in one year having already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon crowns in 2021.
However it wasn’t to be as the World No.1 suffered an unthinkable 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s final in New York.
But despite the straight-sets loss, Djokovic says he was just happy his chase for grand slam perfection in 2021 was finally over.
When asked in his post-match press conference to describe his emotions, the 34-year-old said: “Relief.”
“I was glad it was over because the build up for this tournament and everything that mentally, emotionally I had to deal with throughout the tournament in the last couple of weeks was just a lot.”
