"Not too bad for an oldie" - Novak Djokovic's wife Jelena light-heartedly comments on his age, thanks journalist for commending his performance

Novak Djokovic's wife Jelena Djokovic thanked tennis journalist Caira Conner for showering praises on the tennis legend ahead of the 2023 US Open.

Conner's article in New York Magazine Intelligencer drew parallels between the Serb's perceptive style of play and Artificial Intelligence. It began with a reference to the World No. 2's rivalry with his 16-year junior Carlos Alcaraz.

Conner wrote that although the 23-time Grand Slam champion lost to Alcaraz in the final of this year's Wimbledon Championships, his comeback victory in the Cincinnati Open title clash against the Spaniard was akin to an AI's meticulous study of his opponent.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

"By now, 23 Grand Slam victories in, Djokovic has become a kind of freakish human algorithm, a self-learning model trained on 30 years’ worth of performance data, one whose outputs have only become more responsive — and iterative — over time."

In closing, Conner echoed the sentiments of several tennis fans who wish to see another mouthwatering encounter between the top two players at the US Open.

Conner took to Twitter to share the link to her article on nymag.com. It caught Jelena Djokovic's eye who replied to Conner's post, thanking her for the article. She also made a tongue-in-cheek comment about her husband's age.

"#nottoobad for an oldie #Nolefam Thanks Caira!," Jelena wrote.

The 36-year-old will begin his US Open campaign against Alexandre Muller in the opening round on Monday, August 28.

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Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek to headline opening day at US Open

2023 US Open

Three-time US Open champion Novak Djokovic will play his first match at Flushing Meadows after a gap of two years. He will enter the tournament on the back of a Cincinnati Open title win and will take on Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the first round. Muller's best result of the year has been conquering the 2023 Montechiarugolo Challenger title in Italy.

This is the first time that the duo will meet on the tour.

Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek will be gearing up for her first-round matchup against Sweden's Rebecca Peterson. The World No.1 will come into the match after a three-set loss to Coco Gauff in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open. After her triumph at the French Open, Swiatek will be eyeing her second Grand Slam of the year.

Peterson will come into the match after a quarterfinal finish at the Challenger Chicago. Her deepest run at the US Open came in 2018 when she reached the third round.

The duo have met twice on the tour so far, with Swiatek leading the head-to-head 2-0.