Novak Djokovic is steadily slipping down the pecking order of men’s tennis. While he remains one of the best players in the world, the Serb has reached a stage where even his best isn’t enough to compete with the two frontrunners on the ATP tour in Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
At 38 years old, dual defeats to Sinner at the French Open and Wimbledon have forced questions to be asked regarding whether Djokovic can compete for a record-extending 25th men’s grand slam title. With that seeming further and further away with each passing tournament, questions have begun to float regarding impending retirement for the Serbian great.
Nick Kyrgios, who has developed a great relationship with Djokovic over the years, revealed that in a conversation the pair had earlier this year, the Serb had already begun to contemplate stepping away from tennis.
“I think he’s got to be finished soon,” Kyrgios said on the All on the Table podcast. “Like, come on, what more? I asked him this at Indian Wells this year. We were in the locker room and I said ‘why are you here? Why are you playing?’ He just goes ‘I don’t know.’”
Kyrgios says Djokovic’s family big factor in decision
Djokovic’s doubts also came to the fore after his semifinal loss to Sinner at the French Open, where he expressed on court that there might be a chance this was the last time he was playing in Paris. One of the reasons might be an inclination to spend more time with his family, which Kyrgios pointed out as a big reason.
“I go ‘what about your kids, I know you want to spend time with your family’. He said ‘yeah, I don’t know’. That was the first time I think he missed his family a lot,” explained Kyrgios. Djokovic has two children with his wife Jelena, all of whom can commonly be spotted travelling with Novak to tournaments.
“I can’t see him playing for more than another year. Not again. Not the whole year again. He is so professional. I am just speaking from my experience if I had a family like his and kids,” concluded the Australian player, who is likely to make his return at the US Open.
Djokovic would be following in the footsteps of the remainder of the ‘Big 4’, all of whom have retired over the last three years, beginning with Roger Federer, and then Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal over the past 12 months. Djokovic will still want to gun for titles and records — but the day he hangs his racquet up might not be too far away.