Novak Djokovic believes he still has a point to prove despite being one of the most successful tennis players of all time.
The Serbian has won 101 ATP titles during his career, including 24 at Grand Slams. Currently ranked fifth in the world, he is the oldest player in the top 100 at 39. The only player older than him in the top 200 is 41-year-old Stan Wawrinka, who will be retiring at the end of this season.
As he approaches the latter part of his career, there has been speculation about how much longer the former world No.1 will continue playing. Djokovic has addressed this topic in his new documentary Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter, which is set for worldwide release on August 20th on Amazon Prime. The 92-minute film looks at his journey from childhood and is directed by Jason Hehir, who was behind Michael Jordan’s The Last Dance series.
“I truly feel still young. I don’t know when I’m going to finish my career,” said Djokovic.
“It might be another year, it might be another 15 years, I don’t know. As long as I have the drive, the passion, but most of all, as long as I feel like I can win tournaments and I can be one of the best players in the world, I want to keep going.”
In recent months, Djokovic has prioritised his scheduling around Grand Slam events in order to be in his best form for them. Since January, he has played just six events, with three of those being at majors. Recently, he suffered a shock loss at the Cincinnati Masters to Thiago Agustin Tirante.
“The number one doubter is here,” he continued, pointing to himself.
“I’m the number one doubter, and I’m trying to prove myself wrong more than anyone else.
“I have no date in my mind, to be honest, the expiry date of my career.”
Djokovic has reached the quarter-finals or better in six out of the last seven Grand Slam events he has played. The only exception was this year’s French Open when he lost in the third round to Joao Fonseca. He hasn’t won a major since 2023, and his last title of any sort was achieved last November at a 250 event in Athens, Greece.
“I know a lot of people are speculating that, a lot of people are retiring me already for many years,” he said.
“Why would you want to retire me when I’m still playing and I’m still competing at the highest level? I’m still top five, top 10 in the world. Why would I talk about retirement when I keep proving to myself that I can still win?”
Djokovic will be making his 20th main draw appearance at the US Open, which starts in just over a week.
