Novak Djokovic hinted that he's glad Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have been lacking from motion this 12 months. Nadal has been absent for almost all of the season via harm and is focusing on a return on the Australian Open in January.

Meanwhile, Federer retired on the Laver Cup in emotional scenes final 12 months. That has allowed Djokovic to win three of the 4 Grand Slam titles in 2023.

The Serbian did not even take a relaxation after claiming the US Open as he joined up together with his Serbian team-mates for the Davis Cup. Djokovic's first tie was in opposition to Spain, who had been with out Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

The 36-year-old was requested if he was lacking his closest rivals and he was brutally sincere in his response. Djokovic stated: "Personally, I don't know how much I miss them, but at the sports level, I'm sure tennis misses them a lot. We are talking about two players who are tennis legends, two athletes who have left an immense legacy for the sport in general. I don't know how much I miss them, to be honest, at least on the court."

Djokovic was left in a flood of tears when he made a pit cease in Serbia earlier than heading out to the Davis Cup. And he defined why he headed straight to satisfy up together with his fellow countrymen.

"Leaving my family is never easy but coming to another family, my Serbian squad is always giving me the greatest of joy and really beautiful sensation to be able to be playing for my country," he added.

"So, you know at the beginning of the season I said Grand Slams and playing for my country are my greatest priority, I really want to contribute as much as I can and here we are and the goal is to reach the top eight and hopefully we can keep going in the right direction."

Djokovic has received 24 Grand Slam titles, two greater than Nadal and three higher than Federer. And former world No 1 Andy Roddick holds the Serb in increased regard than his rivals.

He stated: "The dominance of Novak and the way that he’s able to win this consistently is just absurd. He’s probably the most reliable player that we’ve ever had in the game. I wouldn’t bet against him on any given day, on any surface, in any format. It’s an impossibility to make a statistical argument against him being the best ever. It’s like proving gravity at this point."