Novak Djokovic rubbishes retirement claims and explains why he hasn’t ended career | Tennis | Sport

Novak Djokovic turns 39 next month, but he’s still going strong on the tennis tour, even if he isn’t playing as often as he used to. The Serbian superstar has completed just two tournaments this month but still sits at No. 4 in the world, and started the season by making his 38th Grand Slam final, showing he can still challenge for the greatest titles.

Arguably one of his biggest and best titles came at the Olympic Games almost two years ago, when, aged 37, he finally won the elusive Olympic gold medal that had always evaded him. Since then, some have questioned why Djokovic didn’t retire on the spot.

He’s lifted 101 titles and won virtually everything possible in the sport. Djokovic has an Open Era and all-time joint record 24 Grand Slam titles, 40 Masters 1000s, and he’s spent a record 428 weeks at No. 1 in the world. To many, he has ‘completed’ tennis.

But Djokovic himself doesn’t see it that way – and that’s part of the reason he hasn’t retired yet. “I’ve never experienced emotions like that on a tennis court before. The tears just came, naturally. It was very pure, very powerful,” the Olympic champion told Esquire Australia of that gold medal win. “But I don’t feel like I’ve ‘completed’ tennis.”

While he’s now playing a more limited schedule, the 24-time Major winner is still one of the world’s best players. Last year, he reached the semi-finals of all four Slams. In January, he stunned Jannik Sinner in a five-set semi-final at the Australian Open, ultimately finishing runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz. And he’s still enjoying fighting with his new, young rivals.

“What keeps me going is first and foremost my love for the game. Tennis has been my life for so long, and I still enjoy every moment on the court. I love the competition, I love the challenge, and I still feel strong and capable of competing with the younger players – that’s a big part of the fun for me,” Djokovic added.

“My motivation to keep playing comes from my love for the game, from competition, and from challenging myself.”

Djokovic has been able to maintain his longevity by being increasingly selective with his schedule in recent years. The world No. 4 has not played a match since March 12, when he lost to Jack Draper in the fourth round of Indian Wells. He has since skipped the Miami Open and the Monte Carlo Masters.

But Feliciano Lopez, the Madrid Open tournament director, is hopeful that Djokovic will return and start his clay season at the Caja Magica later this month. “He’s keen to come to Madrid, that’s what I’ve been told. Obviously, we know Djokovic’s schedule lately is what it is. He has the ability to play very little and still be fighting for the big titles at almost 40 years old,” Lopez told Radio Nacional Spain

“What I think is that he’s keen to come to Madrid, so it’s one of his priorities of the clay court season, obviously after Roland Garros. We have to be very respectful of this because he plays so infrequently and chooses his tournaments so specifically and precisely.”

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