Novak Djokovic has admitted that his wife Jelena wouldn’t be happy if he signed up to keep playing tennis for more than a decade in an effort to beat one of Rafael Nadal’s records. The 36-year-old already counts 24 Grand Slam titles and 400 weeks as the world No 1 among his lift of achievements. Djokovic ruled out the idea of playing until he was 50, admitting that he would be proud even if he retired now.
Djokovic continued to make history this season, winning three of the four Majors to become the first player in the Open Era to hold a total of 24. The Serb surpassed Steffi Graf’s all-time weeks at world No 1 and recently extended his record to a staggering 400 weeks. And he also boasts 40 Masters 1000 titles and seven ATP Finals crowns.
There are some staggering achievements that the world No 1 hasn’t been able to match, however, including Nadal’s impressive record at the French Open. The Spaniard has 14 titles on the Parisian clay and has lost just three matches there. But Djokovic admitted that he wouldn’t sign a form that guaranteed him to match or exceed Nadal’s feat if it meant playing until he was 50 years old.
“I don’t know, I’m sure my wife wouldn’t be very happy,” Djokovic told Marca when asked if he’d sign the piece of paper. “I am very satisfied with everything I have achieved. I do not have to look at Rafa’s record in Paris.”
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Instead, the 36-year-old confessed that he could end his career today and feel fulfilled. He added: “I have many that I’m proud of and that are part of history. If I were to retire right now, I could only be happy and proud of what I’ve done.”
It comes just days after Djokovic admitted that he was learning to strike the right balance between his personal and professional lives as his two children continue to grow older. Stefan, nine, and Tara, six, were both in their father’s box to watch him lift a record-extending seventh title at the ATP Finals on Sunday.
Afterwards, the world No 1 said: “As a person, again, balance of the private and professional life is the key. I mean, obviously it’s different for everyone. We all different individuals. This is a very demanding sport with high travel intensity throughout the year. You have to play worldwide, which is beautiful, which allows us to travel the world, play in front of many different people and nations. At the same time it separates you from the family and from the dear ones.
“That was probably the biggest challenge I had internally for me, is how to balance things out and still be able to participate in my children’s lives and my wife’s life and be able to be there when it matters. When I’m not, how can I stay connected. Obviously technology allows you to communicate, but it’s different when you were away.”
While Djokovic seems to be getting it right, it sounds like his wife won’t want him juggling the two for much longer after he ruled out playing for another 14 years. But the Serb also shows no signs of stopping in the immediate future as he admitted that he would hang on until young players like Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune start to regularly beat him.
“I will hang on for as long as I feel like hanging on, I think as long as I’m able to win against them on the big stage, I’ll still keep going because why stop if you’re still winning the biggest titles,” he explained. “Once they start to, yeah, kick my butt, then I will consider probably having a little break or maybe a permanent break from professional tennis.”
