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Andy Murray expects Novak Djokovic's dominance to only continue.
Djokovic won his 24th Grand Slam title following a straight-set win over Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final this past weekend. He equaled Margaret Court's record of 24 all-time major wins and is now just one Grand Slam win away from becoming the all-time leader for both men and women.
Given that he reached the final of every Grand Slam this year, it's hard to see him not do just that and continue to play for a couple of years more despite being 36 years of age.
For Murray, it's up to the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and the rest of the ATP Tour to stop Djokovic from continuing to dominate the sport.
“It's up to the young guys to be pushing Novak and looking to overtake him. It doesn't look like that's close to happening,” Murray told the BBC. “Novak's been an incredible player for a very long time, like Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal], it's the longevity and how long they've all been able to do that for.
“Novak's longevity has been the greatest. He's played at this level for such a long time now.”
Djokovic may have completed a first calendar slam since Rod Laver back in 1969 if not for Alcaraz who defeated him in the Wimbledon final earlier this summer. Following that result, many were quick to label it a changing of the guard.
But with the Serbian legend going on to not only defeat Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Open final last month, but win a fourth US Open crown, all that talk was premature to say the least.
“Everyone was saying it was a changing of the guard [after Wimbledon], but it wasn't for me,” Murray added. “It was quite clear Novak had won two of the first three Slams and was very, very close in the final of Wimbledon.
“He proved that he's the best player in the world again yesterday and like I said it's up to the youngsters to improve enough to take him.”
While Murray expects Djokovic to further increase his Grand Slam tally, he also believes such dominance isn't completely guaranteed either due to a number of factors.
One of those factors could be the continued development of Alcaraz who has remarkably already won two Grand Slam titles at the age of just 20. He's not at the consistent level of Djokovic just yet, but Murray believes he'll get there eventually.
“I don't think he's [Djokovic] going to stop at 24 titles, but you never know how long it will last,” Murray explained. “Physically, motivation, whether someone like Alcaraz improves – he's an amazing player Alcaraz, he's brilliant, but to do what Novak is doing on a consistent basis is different.
“It's not the same as doing it for 15-20 weeks a year like Novak is doing, every time he steps on the court. I do think that Alcaraz will soon get to that level but I don't think this is going to be the last time that Novak wins a Grand Slam.”
