Novak Djokovic outlined his eventual plans to retire after booking his spot in the Australian Open quarter-final. The 36-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down, putting on a masterclass to defeat Adrian Mannarino 6-0 6-0 6-3 on Sunday, and doesn’t want to end his career while he’s still on top. But his dominance hasn’t helped him be any more relaxed on the court, as Djokovic confessed that he wrongly thought he would be less stressed this season.
Djokovic matched Roger Federer’s record for the most Grand Slam quarter-finals by reaching the 58th of his career in Melbourne. The world No. 1 put on his best performance of the tournament so far, dropping just three games across an hour and 44 minutes to defeat Mannarino and keep his title defence alive.
The 36-year-old’s Australian Open run has been a tale of two halves so far, as he was pushed in two tight opening matches against Dino Prizmic and Alexei Popyrin before finding his groove to beat Tomas Etcheverry and Mannarino in straight sets. It means that it will take a special performance to stop Djokovic from lifting the title. And he doesn’t want to stop playing while he is still dominating the rest of the field.
Djokovic discussed his eventual retirement plans after his victory on Sunday, hinting that he wouldn’t be retiring anytime soon as long as he was still the leader of the pack. “I actually talked about it few times the last year or so, that I feel while being No. 1 and still on top of the game, I don’t feel like leaving tennis in that position,” the 24-time Major winner explained.
The top seed in Melbourne explained that he saw no point in hanging up his racket until he started losing consistently and couldn’t lift the big titles anymore. He continued: “I feel like I want to keep on going. When I feel that I am not able to compete at the highest level with the guys and be a contender for a Grand Slam title, then I’ll probably consider going into retirement.”
However, Djokovic also knew that things were unpredictable, adding: “But that can change, obviously. I mean, a lot of things can change. I’m not a teenager anymore. I’m a father and a husband. A lot of things happening in the private life off court that I enjoy, that require my attention, my presence, my energy. Yeah, still I’m really blessed to be where I am. Let’s see how far it goes.”
It’s no surprise that the world No. 1 doesn’t want to stop playing, as he enjoyed one of his career-best seasons in 2023 and became the first player in the Open Era to reach 24 Grand Slam singles titles. It’s a record that Djokovic thought would help him play with less stress this season, given that he has already achieved his dreams and can only keep adding to his Major trophy haul, but he admitted he was still feeling the tension this fortnight.
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