Djokovic, launched for the Davis Cup: "My body works and listens to me, the motivation is still there"

Djokovic, this Monday upon his arrival at Malaga airport.Angel Martinez Getty Images Europe (Getty Images Europe EFE)

Malaga received this Monday the crocodile of tennis, that is, Novak Djokovic, who upon his landing in a private terminal of the airport wore the same baseball that he wore on his arrival two weeks earlier in Turin, where we already know what happened: the usual thing. Victorious, the number one now bursts into Andalusia, his second home, to try to find the last of his spoils this year, the Davis Cup. It won't be out of desire. A lover of team competitions and always showing a deep sense of patriotism, the Serbian is ready to leave one last mark on this triumphant season, in which he has not resisted almost anything. That's seven trophies and the throne at the end of the year, as well as having made it very clear who's in charge.

"The way I finished the tournament [the Masters Cup won on Sunday] and the course are incredible," he said a day earlier in front of journalists, amazed at the Balkan's ability to perpetuate himself and improve. Could the Djokovic of 10 years ago with the current one? "A decade ago it was 2013, so I'd say I'd win now. Probably 2015 was my best year, when I did 19 finals in a row, but I would say that the one now would beat the one ten years ago; I don't know what the score would be, but I'm sure it would give my young self a hard time," joked the Belgrade native, a maverick who, without having closed 2023, is already thinking about the adventure of 2024.

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The Davis Cup, or a dead end

"How is it possible to do better? Well, you can always win the big four and also the Olympic gold," said Nole, who has the Paris Games between his eyebrows, taking into account that this is one of the few prizes he has not won. "It's definitely one of the biggest goals for next year. The schedule is going to be very congested and we'll be changing surfaces very quickly, so it's going to be a big challenge. But I always have the highest ambition, so 2024 will be no different. The drive I have is still there and my body works and listens to me well. The motivation is still there," he anticipates in case there are any absent-minded people.

The Serbian was received at the airport by the director of the Davis Cup Finals, Feliciano López, and is already beginning to design with his clique the assault on the Salad Bowl at the Martín Carpena in Malaga. He is at ease in Malaga, where he has one of his residences (in Marbella) and the local fan is looking forward to him. Spain, knocked out in the group stage played in September in Valencia, will not take part in this final tournament, so they will be the main attraction of a competition that will start this Tuesday, with the dispute of the first quarter-final series between the defending champions, Canada, and the surprising Finland (16.00, Movistar+).

On Wednesday, the Czech Republic and Australia will compete (16.00), and on Thursday Djokovic will play against Great Britain (16.00), after the duel between Italy and the Netherlands (12.00).

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