Novak Djokovic’s Father Urged Him To Retire: “He Should Have Stopped”
Srdjan Djokovic, the father of tennis player Novak Djokovic, expressed the wish that his son would give up the sport in 2024 by saying, “I think for some time that he should have stopped working this challenging job.”
Srdjan Djokovic, the father of tennis player Novak Djokovic, expressed the wish that his son would give up the sport in 2024 by saying, “I think for some time that he should have stopped working this challenging job.”
A recent documentary titled Novak Djokovic: Untold Stories commented. The latter years of the Big Four/Big Three era appear to be coming to a harsh end, especially since Rafael Nadal has set 2024 as the year of his retirement tour.
In May, when questioned about his future, Djokovic responded as follows:
“The desire is still there, but things can change quickly – I am 36, I’ve been a pro for 20 years.”
Carlos Alcaraz, 20, one of the dwindling number of players with a winning record against him, has emerged as a new adversary for him at the age of 36.
What will happen to Djokovic’s competitive flames after Alcaraz’s thrilling five-set triumph against the Serb in the Wimbledon final 11 days ago? However, despite Djokovic’s record-breaking 23 major championships, 38 Masters 1000 triumphs, and 389 weeks at the top of the world rankings (all records), his parents claim they are happy with his accomplishments.
During the documentary, Srdjan Djokovic said,
“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 recognized 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.”
In that documentary, Djokovic’s mother, Dijana, also believed that her son still had one or two more years remaining in his tennis career. She said, “It’s all up to him. He has won everything, and as far as I’m concerned, he can retire right now.”
The four slams are now Djokovic’s primary emphasis in tennis, and he finds little excitement in competing in other events. He pulled out of the forthcoming Toronto Open, the first Masters 1000 competition, this week.
The US Open, which he has shockingly won just three times, is his lowest total among the four grand slams, even with the French Open. He will likely play Cincinnati as his only warm-up event before that tournament.
He will undoubtedly adjust his plans based on the results of the upcoming two hard-court majors. Djokovic can still increase his grand slam total towards the late 20s and establish a record that might never be surpassed if he regains his winning form.
Many experts predict that Djokovic will seek a political career in Serbia, where he now has sky-high popularity ratings, whenever he eventually decides to retire.
