‘I still plan to compete and play next season,’ says Novak Djokovic
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Novak Djokovic (above) after losing to Jannik Sinner in the final of the Shanghai Masters on Oct 13.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SHANGHAI – The famed “Big Three” in men’s tennis are slowly but surely fading away, with Roger Federer’s retirement in 2022 and Rafael Nadal soon to follow suit after the Davis Cup in November.
However, the ageing Novak Djokovic insisted on Oct 13 that he plans “to compete and play next season” despite suffering another loss at the hands of world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
The 37-year-old Serb, the holder of a record 24 Grand Slam titles, went down 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to the Italian
It was his third straight defeat against the Australian Open and US Open champion, a clear sign that a new era in the men’s game has begun.
However, he said he has no intention of following career-long rival Nadal, 38, into retirement this soon even though he endured, by his own admission, “one of the worst-performing seasons in terms of results”.
“I don’t know what the future brings, I’ll just try to kind of go with the flow to see how I feel in a given moment but I still plan to compete and play next season,” the world No. 4 told reporters.
Djokovic failed to add to his Grand Slam haul in 2024 as Sinner and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who claimed the French Open and Wimbledon titles, took possession of the sport’s major honours.
However, the Serb was crowned Olympic champion,
The loss on Oct 13 left him frustratingly short of becoming just the third man after Jimmy Connors and Federer to win 100 titles.
“It’s not a live-or-die type of goal for me, I think I’ve achieved all of my biggest goals in my career,” he added.
“Right now it’s really about Slams and about still seeing how far I can kind of push the bar for myself.”
All is not lost, however.
Djokovic looked in fine form in Shanghai, playing with consistency throughout the tournament to reach his fifth final at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
“I think there are quite a few positives that I can take,” he said.
“I think the level of my tennis was really good this tournament, probably best after the Olympics in terms of how I played, how I performed, how I fought.
“I did my best tonight. Under the circumstances, I felt maybe not a 100 per cent fresh, but big credit to Jannik for playing the big points better than me, and that’s what made the difference.
“He deserved to win, he was just too strong in important moments.”
He was also complimentary when it came to analysing Sinner’s game. The Italian is 14 years his junior at 23 and his title in Shanghai was his seventh of the year.
“He’s very solid from the forehand and backhand, doesn’t make too many mistakes, and just tries to take away the time from the opponent,” added Djokovic.
“That’s something that reminds me of myself throughout my career, that’s what I’ve done for so many years consistently, playing fast-paced tennis, taking away time from the opponent, kind of suffocating the opponent in a certain way.”
Djokovic is next in action at the Oct 16-19 “Six Kings Slam”, a tennis exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia which will also feature Sinner, Nadal, Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune. AFP, REUTERS
