New York slam reunites Tennis’ ‘Big 4’

NEW YORK—From the pits of despair in Paris, record-setting Novak Djokovic now eyes a third US Open title in New York where for the first time since Wimbledon last year, the sport’s “Big Four” will be reunited.

Djokovic became the first man to win all nine Masters titles with a victory over Roger Federer at Cincinnati on Sunday.

Having captured, against all the odds, a fourth Wimbledon in July, the 31-year-old Serb suddenly finds himself as joint favorite with world No. 1 Rafael Nadal

Champion in 2011 and 2015, and a five-time runner-up, Djokovic sat out the 2017 US Open to nurse an elbow injury.

His physical limitations were still evident when he slumped away from Roland Garros in June after a shock quarterfinal loss to journeyman Marco Cecchinato, threatening to skip Wimbledon to mend his shattered self-confidence.

Fast forward three months and Djokovic is once again the man to beat.

“It’s a wonderful feeling. It’s been a couple of tough months for me with an injury,” said Djokovic who opens his US Open campaign against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.

Djokovic’s Wimbledon triumph took his Grand Slam title collection to 13. He will head for New York buoyed by his dominance over his three major rivals as well—he leads Nadal 27-25, Federer 24-22 and Andy Murray 25-11. —AFP