Novak Djokovic has fired a message to the trolls who’d ‘love’ him to enter retirement after the Olympic tennis tournament at Paris 2024.
The 37-year-old GOAT is the figurehead of the Big Three era of men’s tennis, having passed Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s tally of major singles titles.
Federer has retired, while Nadal has struggled with injuries in recent years, with the 38-year-old’s Olympic singles participation in doubt over a thigh issue.
Djokovic, though, is still very much near the top of the sport – and came close to landing this year’s Wimbledon title – only losing out to Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
The Serbian won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments in 2023 and despite a dip in form this season, he is adamant he has no plans to hang up his racket at all.
‘I don’t have retirement close in my mind, to be honest,’ Djokovic said ahead of his Olympic singles first-round match against Australia’s Matthew Ebden, and a potential blockbuster second-round match against Nadal, if the Spaniard is fit.
‘Even though I know a lot of people would love me to retire so this era is done. But I think as long as there’s at least one of us left competing, the era is still going.
‘Of course there’s a change of generations. You have Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner, currently they’re our two best players in the world, deservedly.
‘They’re playing at a very high level particularly this year. They’re very young and they are going to carry this sport in the future.
‘But I’ve been present for the shift of many generations in the last 15 years and I like to see that.
Novak Djokovic also sent a classy message to British legend Andy Murray ahead of his retirement from professional tennis.
‘I heard the news about Andy,’ Djokovic said. ‘I hope that he will have the best possible farewell in his last competitive match here in the Olympics. He’s a legend of our sport. He’s been an incredibly important player for tennis globally.
‘Nadal of course, the same. Even more. All the results and achievements he’s had particularly in this city, at Roland-Garros. Nadal still didn’t say when his last tournament will be so hopefully for the sake of the sport he can keep going.’
‘I think it’s also great that I’m still able to play, Nadal, other veterans like [Stan] Wawrinka that have won multiple Grand Slams and made a big name in the sport.
‘I think that also adds more significance and attention to our sport and I think it’s a nice fine balance.
‘Of course, the end is closer than the beginning, I know that, for me personally as well. But I still enjoy competition and I’ll keep going until I don’t enjoy it anymore.’
2024-07-26T15:09:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd