Novak Djokovic claimed to be in really ‘weird situation’ after his defeat to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon

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Novak Djokovic now has a lot to think about after his defeat to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals.

Djokovic was beaten in straight sets by Sinner for a second consecutive year at this stage at the Wimbledon Championships.

This has continued Djokovic’s quest for a 25th Grand Slam title, having not won a Grand Slam since the 2023 US Open.

Djokovic has confirmed his plans to return to Wimbledon next year, when he would be 40 years old, and both former world number one Andy Roddick and American tennis journalist Jon Wertheim have explained why they think the Serbian is currently in a ‘weird situation’.

Andy Roddick and Jon Wertheim react to Novak Djokovic’s defeat to Jannik Sinner

Both Wertheim and Roddick were full of admiration for what Djokovic is achieving at this stage in his career when discussing his Wimbledon semi-final defeat to Sinner on the ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘ podcast.

Despite Djokovic still being able to reach the latter stages of Grand Slam tournaments, Wertheim pointed out the complexities of this not being satisfactory for the 24-time Grand Slam champion unless he is winning the title.

“Novak does not need anyone’s career advice,” said Wertheim. “But I’m not sure I have ever seen this situation in sport.

“Here is a guy, I think this was his fifth event of the year, he rocks through to the semis and life is great. You say why on Earth would you never retire, when you are making major semi-finals, you are having fun, you are making money.

“And yet here is a guy who set the standard for so many years. He hasn’t won a major now in three years. Realistically the chances are stair stepping down. He has got to be A+ to beat these top guys who are 15 years younger. 

“So on the one hand you are saying this is a crazy conversation. You are having a Wimbledon where 90% of the players would do cartwheels and the flip side is that it’s very strange to see Novak Djokovic go so long without winning a major.  Whatever fulfils him, God bless, but it is a weird situation that he is in.”

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Roddick added, “I think Novak for so long was that guy that everyone had to play perfectly against to beat him, including the best players in the world. Now I think he is the one that has to play perfectly against a couple of guys to get that win. I think that’s the shift. 

“It is a fun challenge. As the guy who was always the guy who had to play perfectly, it’s not that fun most of the time. It might have been more fun if I had 24 Slams in the bank with that challenge. 

“But he is playing part-time tennis and still making the semis of majors and finals. He has made a final and a semi in the last three majors. It’s absurd. That is a career year for a lot of really great players. 

“I am going to offer you the simplest solution. If his family likes travelling and he still likes playing, he seemed happy in his press conference, I don’t know if he gets out the building and is devastated. He didn’t appear that way. He might just enjoy it.”

Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam results since the 2023 US Open

Since Djokovic won his 24th and most recent Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2023, he has played 11 major tournaments since then, with this year’s Wimbledon his most recent.

Although he has been unable to capture the title at any of those Grand Slams, Djokovic has reached at least the semi-final at eight of those 11 Grand Slams.

Djokovic has come the closest to winning a 25th Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2024 and the Australian Open earlier this year, losing in the final to Carlos Alcaraz on both occasions.

The next Grand Slam tournament for Djokovic to target is the US Open, where he is a four-time former champion.

Djokovic did not play any warm-up tournaments before the US Open last year, and it is currently unclear as to whether he will do so again in 2026.