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Life is Beautiful but Juve Keeping Feet on Ground, Says Motta

Soccer Football - Serie A - Juventus v Como - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - August 19, 2024 Juventus coach Thiago Motta reacts REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Soccer Football - Serie A - Juventus v Como - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - August 19, 2024 Juventus coach Thiago Motta reacts REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Life is Beautiful but Juve Keeping Feet on Ground, Says Motta

Soccer Football - Serie A - Juventus v Como - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - August 19, 2024 Juventus coach Thiago Motta reacts REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Soccer Football - Serie A - Juventus v Como - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - August 19, 2024 Juventus coach Thiago Motta reacts REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Juventus coach Thiago Motta described his life as beautiful on Sunday but he is not getting carried away before his team face Hellas Verona.

Motta, brought in after four seasons without a league title for Juventus, began with a 3-0 win over Como and on Monday they go to Verona who started with a 3-0 victory over Napoli.

"We remain with our feet on the ground after the first day of the championship," Reuters quoted Motta telling reporters.

"Now we are on the second day, we face a team that is in good form after their victory against a team that is a serious candidate for the Scudetto.

"We played at home against Como, which was a good performance and a good result for us. Tomorrow I expect a different story and we have to be ready for everything."

Motta attracted the attention of Juventus after taking Bologna to a fifth-place finish last season.

"You look at it from the outside but from the inside my life is beautiful. I wake up early with great energy and enthusiasm to come to training," Motta said.

"I find myself with fantastic people who have that same enthusiasm. I find myself with guys who arrive with a huge desire to improve."

Juventus had been slow to bring in the players Motta requires to challenge for the title, but Argentine winger Nico Gonzalez is having his medical on Sunday before signing from Fiorentina.

Another winger, Francisco Conceicao, is expected to arrive on loan from Porto.

"They are strong players which is why they will come to our squad. Every player that arrives will give us a big hand to be competitive until the end," Motta said.

"That is the case for those already here and those who will arrive."

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Djokovic Seeks Record 25th Grand Slam Title after Getting Olympic Gold

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 24: Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks to the mediaahead of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2024 in New York City. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 24: Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks to the mediaahead of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2024 in New York City. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP
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Djokovic Seeks Record 25th Grand Slam Title after Getting Olympic Gold

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 24: Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks to the mediaahead of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2024 in New York City. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 24: Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks to the mediaahead of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2024 in New York City. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP

As big a deal as finally winning an Olympic gold medal was to Novak Djokovic, as much as he has accomplished in tennis — the men's-record 24 Grand Slam trophies, the 99 total titles, the most weeks at No. 1 for any player and on and on — do not for a moment think he is satisfied as the U.S. Open begins.
“People would ask me: ‘Now that you have basically won everything with the golden medal, what else is there to win?’ I still feel the drive. I still have the competitive spirit,” the 37-year-old from Serbia said Saturday. “I still want to make more history and enjoy myself on the tour.”
If it seems like there is always some sort of milestone in the offing when Djokovic takes the court, that's because there usually is.
This time around at Flushing Meadows, where play begins Monday and the No. 2-seeded Djokovic faces 138th-ranked Radu Albot of Moldova at night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, there is the latest opportunity to get major singles championship No. 25, a total no man or woman ever has reached in tennis.
As the defending champion, there is also a chance to become the first man to win at least two consecutive titles at the US Open since Roger Federer swept five in a row from 2004 to 2008.
“I didn’t know it was that long. Hopefully that changes this year,” Djokovic said. “I mean, that’s the goal. The goal is always for me to try to go all the way to the finals and fight for the trophy. That kind of mindset or approach is no different for me this year.”
That consistency of purpose is what has carried him to all of his achievements.
“I want to follow what Djokovic has done always in his career,” said Carlos Alcaraz, the 21-year-old who already owns four majors himself, “which is getting better and improving, showing up at the court playing at his best level.”
It's also as widely admired by other players in the sport as the numbers — “Colossal,” Alcaraz called the idea of winning a 25th major — associated with Djokovic's name.
“Your baseline average level just has to be so much better than everyone else’s. It speaks to how much better someone is than everyone else, because there are so many people just trying to get that one — trying to get one or two; a couple,” 12th-seeded American Taylor Fritz said, according to The Associated Press. “It’s amazing. And obviously the discipline throughout the year, to never be satisfied and always want more, is also just extremely impressive in itself.”
Djokovic hasn't competed anywhere since beating Alcaraz in a pair of tiebreakers in the Summer Games title match.
The way Djokovic reacted that day — kneeling, trembling, crying — and the way he spoke about it Saturday left no doubt about its importance to him.
“Just a very proud moment of experiencing the gold medal around my neck, with the Serbian anthem and Serbian flag. Very, very special. Probably the most intense emotions I have ever had on a tennis court,” he said. “The moment of when I achieved it, how I achieved it, after years of trying, the journey that was the way it was, I think makes it even more unique.”
And now it's time to turn the page and pursue more hardware.
The season stops for no one, and Djokovic is not interested in taking any kind of a break right now.
He's won the US Open on four occasions. Making that five is what is on his mind at the moment.
Consider: Djokovic is on the verge of his first year since 2017 without claiming at least one major trophy. He lost to Jannik Sinner — whose steroids case Djokovic weighed in on Saturday — in the semifinals of the Australian Open; withdrew from the French Open before the quarterfinals because he needed surgery on his right knee; lost to Alcaraz in the final at Wimbledon.
“Grand Slams are the pillars of our sport. They are THE most important historical tennis events that we have,” Djokovic said. “So if you don’t get pumped and inspired to play your best tennis at Grand Slams, it’s hard to do that anywhere else.”