ジョコ、驚異の一年終え「意欲は残っている」　目線は五輪イヤーへ

【トリノＡＦＰ＝時事】男子テニスのシーズン最終戦、ＡＴＰファイナルズで最多７回目の優勝を果たし、驚異の一年を締めくくったノバク・ジョコビッチ（セルビア）が、まだまだ止まるつもりはないと話している。（写真は男子テニス、ＡＴＰファイナルズ８日目。トロフィーを手に優勝を喜ぶノバク・ジョコビッチ）
　今季のジョコビッチは、四大大会（グランドスラム）通算２４勝目に８回目の年間世界ランキング１位などいくつもの新記録を樹立した。３６歳となった今も他の選手と一線を画して男子テニスの頂点に君臨し、来年には唯一まだ勝てていない主要大会の五輪が控える中で、さらなる成功を収めたいとすでに意欲を燃やしている。
　テニス界でやり残していることはあるかとの問いかけに対して、「年間グランドスラムと五輪の金メダルかな」と冗談めかしたジョコビッチ。「自分は常に最高の野心と目標を持っている。それが来年も変わらないのは確かだ。意欲はまだ残っている」と話し、「特にビッグトーナメントに対するモチベーションは今もある。自分にとってはもちろん、グランドスラムとファイナルズ、そして来年はできれば五輪もそこに含まれる」と続けた。
　パリ五輪はウィンブルドン選手権から２週間足らずで開幕し、全米オープン直前に終了する日程で行われる。そもそも長く過酷なシーズンに別の大きな目標が挟まり、どんなトップ選手にとっても厳しい戦いになることが予想されるが、３０代後半の選手ならなおさらだ。
　「（パリ五輪は）間違いなく、来年の大きな目標の一つ」というジョコビッチも、「かなりの過密日程になるし、サーフェスも一番遅いクレーから最も速いグラス（芝）、それから再びクレーに戻ってハードコートへ移る（パリ五輪はクレーコート開催）。非常に消耗する過酷な時期になるだろう」と予測した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/11/21-16:35）

Novak Djokovic has no intention of slowing down after capping another incredible year with Sunday's record-breaking seventh ATP Finals victory.
At 36 years old Djokovic is still tennis' number one player by some distance and he has racked up a host of new records this season, taking his Grand Slam tally to 24 and finishing top of the year-end world rankings for the eighth time.
He swept past young pretenders Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on his way to triumph in Turin and is gunning for more glory in 2024, when Paris hosts the one major event where he has not won -- the Olympics.
Asked what else he can accomplish in tennis, Djokovic joked: Well, you can win four Slams and Olympic gold.
I have always the highest ambitions and goals. That's not going to be different for the next year, that's for sure. The drive that I have is still there, he added.
Motivation, especially for the biggest tournaments in sport, is still present... For me, obviously those are Grand Slams and Finals, and next year hopefully also Olympic Games.
The Olympics take place over July 26-August 11 in the French capital, starting less than a fortnight after Wimbledon and finishing shortly before the US Open.
It is a major career goal sandwiched into an already long, draining season, one which will take its toll on all the top players let alone one heading towards his late 30s.
It is definitely one of the major goals for next year, other than Grand Slams, said Djokovic.
It's going to be very congested schedule with going from the slowest to the fastest surface in sport back to the slowest. Clay, grass, clay, then hard court. Obviously that's a very demanding, challenging stretch of the year.
Vanquished finalist Sinner hailed Djokovic as an inspiration during the trophy ceremony and is using the Serb as a model for his own bid for the sport's top honours.
Both Djokovic and his coach Goran Ivanisevic predicted that Sinner, who claimed four tour-level titles this season, will one day win Grand Slams and top the world rankings.
And his performances at the Pala Alpitour have been cause for great optimism within Italian tennis.
He's an inspiration because he worked throughout the whole years before, when he was younger, in the right way to get to this point. That's also one of my goals, Sinner told reporters.
It's not only about watching one season. You watch this season, and you say, OK, I played good. But you have to play well every season, and you have to get to a certain age, which is 35, 36, 37, whatever, and you can still feel the body in the right way.