New York — Novak Djokovic is thrilled to match Pete Sampras with a 14th Grand Slam title at the US Open, but he says it is Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who have made him the player he is. "Pete Sampras is one of the biggest legends to play the game," Djokovic said after winning a third US Open crown with a 6-3 7-6 (7/4) 6-3 victory over Juan Martin del Potro on Sunday. "He was my childhood idol. He was someone I was looking up to. "The first actual thing I saw related to tennis on TV was his first or second Wimbledon championship. That inspired me to start playing tennis. "There is a lot of significance of me being now shoulder to shoulder in terms of Grand Slam wins with him." The victory puts Djokovic three slam wins away from Nadal’s 17 and six behind Federer’s record 20. It also takes him to No3 in the world behind Nadal and Federer — the rankings again reflecting the "big three" status they have shared for so long. Djokovic had tumbled down the rankings, slowed in 2017 by an ...
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