Novak Djokovic dismisses retirement talk, saying: ‘I am in no hurry’

Novak Djokovic has dismissed the idea that he may look to retire in the next couple of years after he returned to his brilliant best at Wimbledon.

Djokovic turned 35-years-old in May, although he didn’t look like he was slowing down any as he ground down Nick Kyrgios to win a seventh Wimbledon title last week.

That took his career total to 21, just one behind Rafael Nadal in the all-time Grand Slam race, and he says he isn’t even thinking about stopping for a good while yet.

“I don’t feel I’m in a hurry to finish my career in a year or two,” Djokovic said. “Thinking about it. I want to keep my body healthy because that is necessary to continue at this level.”

If anything was going to push Novak Djokovic away from tennis early then it would have probably happened at the start of this year as he sat in an Australian immigration detention centre awaiting deportation.

He admits that has made it a very difficult year to come through, but he always knew having Wimbledon to focus on could pull him through and replenish his strength.

“This year has not been the same as the previous years,” Djokovic said. “It started as it did and it affected me a lot.

“The first months of the year were very hard for me. I did not feel good. My mental and emotional part was not in a good place.”

“I wanted to play, but at the same time, when I jumped on the court in Dubai, I felt a lot of pressure and I didn’t feel good on the court. At that moment I realized that this was going to be tough, but sooner or later my best would come back tennis,” Djokovic said.

“Historically, Wimbledon has always come to an important stage in my life and career. In 2018 I had elbow problems, and Wimbledon was the first Grand Slam I played.

“It served as a springboard to later win the US Open and the Australian Open 2019. It is no coincidence that this tournament has such relevance in my life and career.

“It is a relief to win after everything that has happened this year. It adds more value, more meaning and more emotion.”

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