Novak Djokovic sent retirement message by his mum as dad shares concerns
Novak Djokovic's parents have called on him to consider retiring from tennis despite his ongoing success.
Djokovic lost the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz this summer, his first defeat on Centre Court since he was beaten in the 2013 final by Andy Murray.. Following the crushing defeat, both of the 36-year-old's parents, who have watched him dominate tennis, have called for their son to consider his future and hang up his racket.
Speaking in a new documentary named Novak Djokovic – Untold Stories, the tennis legend’s mother Dijana Djokovic said: “It’s all up to him. As far as I’m concerned, he can retire right now – he has won everything.” His father, Srdan, added: “As far as my wishes for him go, he has already fulfilled them all seven/eight years ago. The rest is this amazing bonus. Tennis is only one segment of his life, not his whole life.
“I expect him to be recognised for the things he will do after his career ends as well, after he leaves the tennis world, which I hope it will happen next year. And for Novak to slowly but surely… it’s not the end, but in a year-and-a-half let’s say. My wish as a father – I think for some time that he should have stopped working this extremely difficult job. It’s physically and mentally challenging and very demanding – with him being fully dedicated for 30 years, and not taking his foot off the gas, there is not much time for other things in life.”
The level of tennis Djokovic is still able to play is remarkable considering his age and the sheer amount of tennis he has played throughout his illustrious career. His motivation levels are still incredibly high despite achieving everything in tennis multiple times over. He holds several of the game's most esteemed records and is showing no signs of slowing down.
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In fact, prior to Wimbledon, he dismissed the suggestion that retirement would be sooner rather than later. "Of course [the] journey is still not over," he said. "I feel, you know, if I'm winning slams, why even think about, you know, ending the career that already has been going on for 20 years.
"So I still feel motivated, I still feel inspired to play the best tennis in these tournaments the most, you know, Grand Slams. Those are the ones that count I guess the most in the history of our sport." Djokovic is determined to win more majors and he continued his quest to win his 24th at the ongoing US Open In the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The tennis legend's parents have been in the stands to watch win the biggest titles in the game (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)Under the bright lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium he booked a place in his 13th quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows with a victory over Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. The second seed absorbed his opponent’s booming serve and heavy shots from the baseline to reach his 57th Grand Slam quarter-final.
Gojo cracked 40 winners to Djokovic’s 25, but made the same number of unforced errors, in addition to eight double faults. The victory means Djokovic will face American No. 1 Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals.
“Taylor has been an established Top 10 player for the past couple of years and he’s been playing some terrific tennis, particularly on home soil in hard-court tournaments here in the States,” Djokovic said. “He’s improved so much over the years. Obviously, the matches will only get tougher from here onwards, and I’m ready for the challenge.”
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