Former British player Johanna Konta is backing Novak Djokovic to get his 24th Grand Slam trophy at the 2023 US Open.
Not many people would have put Djokovic ahead of Alcaraz for the US Open trophy before the Cincinnati Masters win. After all, Alcaraz won the event last year, and Djokovic has lost quite a few finals in New York.
He's played well there, but it's also the only Grand Slam, where you feel like he's really vulnerable. There is just something about New York that doesn't quite go his way. It's basically the polar opposite of the Australian Open, where he seems invincible.
When it comes to this year, though, many might have shifted their thoughts after watching Djokovic take down Alcaraz in impressive fashion on Sunday. It's a huge win and one that signalled to former player Johanna Konta that the underdog tag isn't for Djokovic as she told Skysports.
I really want Djokovic to get 24. I may be different but I always support the top dog - not the underdog. I always feel more for the people who are expected maybe to win. I just think it's harder. It's a lot harder to achieve and keep achieving again like these big players have. Why would you not root for him to keep pushing?
Djokovic will be heavily motivated after missing out on the Wimbledon trophy the way he did. According to Konta, he doesn't have anything to prove anymore, but the competitor in him always wants to win the event he plays at, especially a Grand Slam.
He doesn't have a point to prove. He lost a brilliant final against a brilliant player who is probably going to be the next big name in our sport. I don't think there's any point to prove. I just hope he gets to 24 and maybe even a few more just because I want that for him.
Out of the top stars, Djokovic has had the toughest image just because he just got there a bit later and there were huge fan bases for Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. And because Rafa and Roger can claim to have changed the game.
Konta counts herself among the fans of Djokovic, liking his game and the way he was able to push the sport forward. She admitted that Djokovic isn't the most popular player and made an interesting point - as if it's almost trendy not to like Djokovic.
He doesn't get that kind of fan recognition in a way. Also, people like to jump on a bandwagon when they hate on someone just because that's what you do, so I do think he's fallen in this space of people don't like Djokovic because it's trendy.
It's almost trendy not to like Djokovic. I don't see any one person can say why they don't like Djokovic, specifically because no one knows him. Equally, no one knows Roger and Rafa either. No one knows them personally, so if you stopped one fan and asked them why they don't like Djokovic they wouldn't know really. I'm a secret Djokovic fan for that reason.
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