Novak Djokovic embraces the joy of agony

After his latest evisceration at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open semi-final, Djokovic conceded the gap between him and the top two on the circuit is all but impossible to bridge. It will take a minor miracle for the 24 slams he owns to tick over to 25, but when the definitive record of his journey is tabulated, the final tally would be imposing enough either way.