The difference between Novak Djokovic and his best season ever was a single shot

Novak Djokovic must be basking in the glow of his US Open victory , his entire family in custom-made white jackets with his latest Grand Slam record number 24 engraved on the right breast, because the new world No. 1 is one step away from recording the most dominant season in men's tennis history

, if only, Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz , this debate would be over and his 2023 would officially rank as the ultimate achievement in the sport: the drive volley that Djokovic put into the net early in the fifth set of that Wimbledon final. Djokovic's drive volley into the net early in the fifth set of the Wimbledon final. Had he turned it into a down-the-line winner, it would have given him a 2-0 lead in a decisive match against a far less experienced opponent, but Alcaraz managed to hold serve and Djokovic made a cool decision to win 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, today. It was very windy today, and my smash flew into a difficult spot where I couldn't hit a smash, so I had to step back and hit a drive volley. I could see him running to the opposite corner perfectly and I wanted to scoop him off his feet with a drive volley but I missed, it was clear he broke in the next game, just enough to hold serve until the end."