Novak Djokovic Offers Massive Retirement Update After Wimbledon Exit
· Yahoo Sports
Serbian legend Novak Djokovic has lost nine of his last 12 matches against the sport’s top elite, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, with his latest defeat coming against Sinner in Friday’s Wimbledon semifinal.
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After losing in straight sets (6-4, 6-4, 6-4) to Sinner, Djokovic was asked if he plans to keep competing against the world’s best players—even if it appears to be a lost cause for the soon-to-be 40-year-old. His answer did not shock anyone.
“I’d like to. At least one more time. Let’s see,” the seven-time Wimbledon champion said of his desire to return to SW19 at least one more time in 2027.
Novak Djokovic Retirement Plans
Djokovic, who hasn’t won a major title since the 2023 US Open, is in the middle of the longest grand slam drought of his career. Yet, he remains one of the best players on the Tour, consistently making deep runs at major events only to fall to Sinner or Alcaraz on the biggest stages. To his credit, he hasn’t been discouraged by those losses.
“Last year I reached 4 semifinals,” Djokovic said of his consistency on the Tour.
“This year, out of 3 Slams, I reached 1 final and 1 semifinal. For 99% of players, that would be a very good Grand Slam result. For me, it’s not good enough. Because I’m blessed and cursed to be used to something of the highest degree in terms of results and achievements.
“In some way, I’m also dealing with myself in a sense that I’m telling myself, look, this is amazing that you’re still able to play at such a high level and push the youngsters to the limit for Grand Slam titles.”
Novak Djokovic Endures ‘Internal Battle’
As the 39-year-old alluded to, he has good reason to be proud of his recent results, even if they aren’t befitting of a 24-time major champion. For Djokovic, it’s an “internal battle” as he has a higher expectation of himself than fans and critics alike.
“…I always have the highest expectations for myself,” added the male GOAT of tennis.
“It’s kind of that internal battle of what I’ve been through for 20+ years of my career, what the goals were, the expectations.. and trying to also balance it out and trying to be a bit more humble in that sense.
“I still enjoy the thrill of competition. Maybe I don’t enjoy all the hard weeks leading up to big tournaments, putting myself over and over again through a lot of pain, physically mostly. I’m glad that this tournament the body held pretty well.”
Djokovic is expected to play the upcoming US Open, but it’s unknown if he will play the entire hard-court swing leading to Flushing Meadows. As is tradition, the hard-court swing will kick into high gear with ATP1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati before the final major of the year.
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