‘I know Novak Djokovic won’t make same announcement as Rafael Nadal’ | Tennis | Sport

Novak Djokovic will aim to give tennis fans a farewell tour when he retires, rather than making an abrupt announcement like Rafael Nadal. Serbian journalist Saša Ozmo does not expect the 24-time Grand Slam champion to have a full retirement year, but believes Djokovic will make a decision public while still having a few tournaments left to play.

Ozmo, a journalist for Sport Klub, told Express Sport: “Knowing Novak, he’ll do his best to have a farewell tour, to maybe go to some of the places he didn’t visit as a player that much and go to some of the places that were his favourite tournaments. I don’t expect it to be a full year, let’s say a retirement year, like Kobe Bryant had, for example, but a few tournaments; I don’t expect it to be abrupt.”

Bryant made his decision to retire when the Los Angeles Lakers had 66 games remaining of their 82-game-long NBA regular season. Injuries also limited the basketball player to featuring in only 41 of a possible 164 games during the two years before making his retirement decision.

Djokovic continues to talk up playing until the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, by which time he will be 41 years old. Ozmo believes that it is highly ambitious.

He said: “I mean, it’s crazy, but he’s been known to want and succeed in doing crazy things. So, playing until LA 2028 is a huge goal, considering he has been very injury-prone over the last couple of years.

“It’s just like with everybody, the older you get, the more problems with your body you have. And even though Novak probably was one of the fittest athletes ever, when it comes to taking care of his body, nutrition and whatnot, but still, you can’t beat Father Time; he is obviously looking to postpone it as far as he can.”

Ozmo, however, feels that any downturn in his performances at Grand Slams before then could bring forward his retirement. He said: “Novak’s been saying for a long time that the Grand Slams are what motivate him the most, and that still stands.

“But there are a lot of other factors at play, too, and I think Novak has begun to reconcile, maybe, with the fact that he won’t be able, perhaps, to win another Grand Slam; we’ve seen it in his quotes post Wimbledon and after the US Open. So, yes, I think it is a source of motivation, but not necessarily the key one.

“I think the key for him, playing into his 40s, will be his body. If his body holds up, and he can play on this kind of level, being a top-five player, then, OK.

“But if he starts losing at Slams in the second or third round, that might be the catalyst for his decision to retire sooner rather than later. Let’s see, he looked pretty good last year.”

On the subject of winning Grand Slam No. 25 and whether his best chance left to do so is in Melbourne this month, Ozmo said: “I’m not sure what to think. One would think that the Australian Open is always Novak’s best chance, considering he’s won there 10 times.

“From what I can tell from the preseason, he’s taking it pretty seriously, so I’m looking forward to seeing him more fit. Although nobody has beaten nature, he is 39 in May, so it’s getting harder and harder.

“But if the draw opens up a bit, if he doesn’t have to beat both [Carlos] Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner, or perhaps neither of them, then, of course, his chances increase. But he is far from the favourite.”

Australian Open main draw action begins at Melbourne Park on 18 January for this 114th edition of the tournament, and the 58th in the Open Era. The men’s singles final is scheduled for 1 February at Rod Laver Arena.