Author: Chandra Moulee Das
Novak Djokovic has reached the pinnacle of success and won almost every award a tennis player can aim for. He remains one of the best and most athletic players on the circuit, despite the disappointment of losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. Even so, it was a very successful year for the Serb, who secured his tenth Australian Open title and broke the men’s Grand Slam record with a win at the French Open.
Although he is still world number 2 in the ATP rankings, Djokovic has started to manage his workload, focusing mainly on the Grand Slams. The Wimbledon final also showed an emotional side to Djokovic, who got emotional talking to his son Stefan during the trophy ceremony.
In light of these recent events, Djokovic’s father shared his perspective on his son’s future. In an interview for Sportal’s documentary on Novak Djokovic, Srdjan Djokovic expressed his wish to see Novak retire from the sport in a few months’ time, which would allow him to spend more time with his family.
“As far as my wishes for him are concerned, he already fulfilled them seven and eight years ago. The rest is an incredible bonus. Tennis is just one part of his life, not his whole life. I hope he will be recognized for the things he does after his career is over, after he leaves the world of tennis, which I hope will happen next year.”said Srdjan Djokovic.
Diyana, Novak’s mother, also believes it’s time for her son to leave the “big sport”: “Everything depends on him. As far as I know, he can retire right now – he’s won everything.”
Looking ahead, the end of 2024 has been marked as the last time Djokovic’s great rival, Rafael Nadal, will be on the tennis courts. Age and injuries have taken their toll on the Spaniard and this comes just after Roger Federer announced his retirement in 2022, symbolizing the end of the iconic era of the “big three”.