John McEnroe has made a bold prediction about the immediate future of Novak Djokovic within tennis.
After all, earlier tonight, he was handily dismantled by Carlos Alcaraz, once again losing in a semi-final of a Grand Slam as his US Open dream was dashed.
Frustratingly for the superstar Serbian, he didn’t even play that badly.
He was just always going to be up against it, fighting not only against arguably the most in-form player in the world, but against biology as well.
Alcaraz is 16 years his junior, and it showed.
With that in mind, John McEnroe has made an intriguing prediction about Novak Djokovic’s future, and whether he might retire after once again failing to win his record-breaking 25th major title.
John McEnroe makes prediction about Novak Djokovic’s future
Speaking live on ESPN, McEnroe was asked what he thinks the future holds for the legendary veteran.
He admitted: “I don’t know. It’s all up to him.
“In a way, I wouldn’t be surprised if he stopped. But I would be surprised if he tried to go one more year. That would be my bet.
“He’s been the third-best player in the world this year. That’s what he was. So we hear the applause. That’s nice.
“But these guys have separated themselves. These two, it’s incredible. How quickly they’ve just dominated the game.
“What are we gonna do? No Federer, Nadal. Then these two come along.”
He did reserve time to laud Djokovic’s post-match conduct, adding: “He doesn’t lose much, but he’s always been a gracious enough when he does. He always gives the players their due.
“But this is an incredible challenger [Alcaraz].”
Juan Carlos Ferrero claimed Alcaraz is doing something that nobody has ever done before at the US Open. Tonight’s clash only reinforced that.
Novak Djokovic’s elusive Grand Slam record drifts further away from him
Realistically, there’s no reason for Djokovic to still be playing tennis other than for enjoyment.
As of last summer, when he triumphantly claimed Olympic gold, he effectively completed the sport, having won every elite honour, most multiple times.
And yet, he remains, challenging himself against players nearly two decades younger than him.
He has not hidden his unrelenting, conclusive desire to win a 25th Grand Slam title, but as he keeps failing to do so, the task only grows tougher.
Turning 39 next year, whilst Alcaraz and Sinner are only improving physically and technically, it really feels like this elusive goal is set to be one that Djokovic sadly never accomplishes.
