31 January 2024 , 14:02
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Novak Djokovic has admitted he struggles being away from his family while competing, having recently fallen short at the Australian Open.
Djokovic was knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual winner Jannik Sinner, his first defeat in Melbourne since 2018, and he opened up about his future in an interview with Australian broadcaster Nine. When asked how he deals with being away from his two children, Stefan and Tara, while playing at tournaments, Djokovic admitted: "I do struggle with that more and more as the time goes on.
"Australia is a long trip, probably the longest one that we have in the entire year. My son is nine and my daughter is six. Every day, every week they change. My daughter's first tooth went out and I wasn't there for that. At the same time, it's all about balance."
However, it appears Djokovic is not planning to retire any time soon, with presenter Karl Stefanovic claiming: "He'll be back. There's all sorts of debate over what the future holds for him.
"But he has no time for even thinking about retiring yet. He's still having a great time but he's still an incredible dude." Djokovic previously opened up about the difficulties of balancing family life with his tennis career after winning the ATP Finals last year.
Novak Djokovic won Australian Open despite playing with major hamstring tear
"As a person, again, balance of the private and professional life is the key," he said. "I mean, obviously it's different for everyone. We all different individuals. This is a very demanding sport with high travel intensity throughout the year.
"You have to play worldwide, which is beautiful, which allows us to travel the world, play in front of many different people and nations. At the same time it separates you from the family and from the dear ones.
Djokovic's comments come after he was knocked out of the Australian Open in the semi-finals (AFP via Getty Images)"That was probably the biggest challenge I had internally for me, is how to balance things out and still be able to participate in my children's lives and my wife's life and be able to be there when it matters.
"When I'm not, how can I stay connected. Obviously technology allows you to communicate, but it's different when you were away. I will hang on for as long as I feel like hanging on, I think as long as I'm able to win against them on the big stage, I'll still keep going because why stop if you're still winning the biggest titles.
"Once they start to, yeah, kick my butt, then I will consider probably having a little break or maybe a permanent break from professional tennis."