“With the Schedule We Have Nowadays…”: Why Novak Djokovic Expected to Stop Challenging by 2020 in His Last 60 Minutes Interview

Novak Djokovic is still as dominant as ever even at the age of 36 and has superseded his own expectations. He is proving that age is not a factor in sport, as his physical and mental strength has allowed him to dominate men’s tennis at the age of 36. Recently, an old Novak Djokovic interview video has resurfaced on the internet in which he believed that he wouldn’t compete in tennis beyond 2020.

In his Last 60 minutes interview in 2011, the Serbian was asked about the average career length of a professional tennis player. Djokovic admitted that due to the increasing demands of the sport, a career will only last till 30-32 years. However, the Serbian isn’t accurate in this regard as much as his returns on court as besides himself, even his big rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal went well past the age of 35.

“As long as I the desire to win, I will be in tennis. I don’t have an expiry date and I don’t have a limit on my career span. I know approximately the length of a professional tennis player. With the schedule we have now a days it is usually around 30 to 32 years of age.”

According to Djokovic’s prediction, the Serbian should have stopped playing competitive tennis by 2020. But his success is due to his hunger, motivation and fitness and the Serbian looks set to dominate men’s tennis for few more years to come. In that interview, Djokovic was authentic in saying that he did not set any limits for himself when it comes to retiring or achieving certain things in tennis and put it all down to his motivation for winning and the love for the game he has.

Novak Djokovic aiming for more glory in 2024

Novak Djokovic has declared that he aims to win all 4 Grand Slam titles and the Olympics men’s singles gold medal in 2024. The Serbian superstar has achieved almost everything in the game but is still chasing the Olympics gold medal. With the 2024 Olympics potentially his last, the World No.1 could be motivated to earn more glory for his country. Djokovic also could not win the Davis Cup for Serbia this year, as they lost to the Jannik Sinner-powered Italy in the semifinals.

When it comes to the Calendar Slam, the Serbian has come close thrice of achieving it but narrowly failed in the end. However, 2024 will present a new opportunity for the 24-time Grand Slam champion to create another record that his rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer could never. Nadal has announced his comeback on the tour for the 2024 season and all eyes will be on Nadal and Djokovic to see if the duo rekindle their rivalry in the coming year.