Aryna Sabalenka shuts down Novak Djokovic retirement question: ‘Leave him alone'
The post Aryna Sabalenka shuts down Novak Djokovic retirement question: 'Leave him alone' appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic have been two of the faces of tennis over the last few years, with Djokovic's reign at the top dating back much further than that. In between sweeping aside opponents and winning grand slams, Sabalenka and Djokovic have become good friends as well.
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Of course, much of the discussion around Djokovic this season is about how much time he has left before retiring. He won his first grand slam 17 years ago and is beginning to show signs of age and fatigue. The 38-year old is still ranked inside the top 10 in the world and insists he wants to keep playing, but the questions keep coming, including to Sabalenka.
After Sabalenka finished up her third-round match on Friday, a 6-2 6-3 win over Serbian Olga Danilovic, she urged the press and fans to let Djokovic play out the rest of his career and retire on his terms, via The Tennis Letter.
'You guys are trying to put as much pressure as you can on Novak,' Sabalenka said. 'Leave him alone (laughs), look at him. He's fit. He's strong. Mentally and physically I think he's ready to play another two or three years. …
'Imagine if he retired tomorrow, everyone is gonna be sad,' Sabalenka later said. 'Don't you think so? Of course there's another 10, 15 years for Jannik (Sinner) and (Carlos) Alcaraz to become one of the greatest. But just let him be. It was so sad to see the ceremony. Big Four were on the court. You understand that three of them retired. Everyone is missing their game. Just leave Novak to be there, to fight, and to show his greatness and to inspire the next generation.'
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The thought of Djokovic retiring has been even more prevalent at this French Open after the tournament opened with an emotional retirement ceremony for 14-time champion Rafael Nadal, and Sabalenka's comments are a clear reflection of that. Nadal was Djokovic's biggest rival during huis career and the 14-time grand slam champion even said that a part of him retired when Nadal hung it up at the end of the 2024 season.
The Serbian just won his 100th career ATP title just before Roland Garros, lifting the trophy in Geneva, and is into the third round where he will take on Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic. On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka awaits No. 16 seed Amanda Anisimova in the Round of 16 as she seeks her third consecutive quarterfinal at Roland Garros.
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