Novak Djokovic drops hint on tennis future and reveals 'only thing' on his mind
Novak Djokovic has outlined his plans for the future, with the 24-time Grand Slam winner stating that he wants to compete at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles
Novak Djokovic has dropped a major hint about his future, suggesting he could continue to play tennis until at least 2028. Djokovic turned 38 last month and has won a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles during his career.
The Serb also won a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics, beating Carlos Alcaraz in the men's singles final, and he has revealed that he hopes to defend that title in 2028. "The only thing on my mind right now, and the only thing that motivates me, is the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles," he told former West Ham manager Slaven Bilic on Failure of Champions.
"Above all, for me, it's love and passion for the sport. I love tennis, and I still love picking up a racket. The kid in me who fell in love with tennis is still there; I still feel that connection.
"If I didn't have that passion and desire to compete, I wouldn't continue, but I still love going out on the court and winning with a racket in my hands. That fire is still inside me."
It comes after Djokovic hinted that he could retire soon after admitting his defeat to Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the French Open earlier this month could be his last match at Roland Garros.
"This could have been the last match I played here, so I don't know," Djokovic said. "That's why I was a bit more emotional even in the end. But if this was the farewell match of the Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd.
"I don't know really what tomorrow brings in a way at this point in my career. You know, I'm going to 'keep on keeping on'. Twelve months at this point in my career is quite a long time.
"Do I wish to play more? Yes, I do. But will I be able to play in 12 months' time here again? I don't know. Wimbledon and US Open, yes, they are in my plans. That's all I can say right now.
"But I feel like I want to play Wimbledon, I want to play US Open. Those two, for sure. For the rest, I'm not so sure."
Djokovic has not won a Grand Slam singles title since 2023, but he remains one of the best tennis players in the world having reached the final four at both the Australian Open and the French Open this year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
J.P. Crawford clubs grand slam to power Mariners over Guardians
June 15 - J.P. Crawford hit a grand slam and Emerson Hancock pitched seven scoreless innings as the Seattle Mariners completed a three-game sweep of the visiting Cleveland Guardians with a 6-0 victory Sunday afternoon. Crawford, celebrating his first Father's Day as a dad after the offseason birth of a daughter, went deep off Luis Ortiz (3-8) in a five-run second inning. Hancock (3-2), who was coming off three consecutive no-decisions in which he went at least five innings and allowed no more than two runs, gave up just two hits, walked one and struck out four. The right-hander faced 22 batters, one over the minimum for seven innings, and didn't allow a baserunner to reach second base. The lone hits off Hancock were a two-out single by Lane Thomas in the second inning and a leadoff single by Angel Martinez in the third. Martinez was immediately erased as Austin Hedges, playing for the first time since returning from the seven-day concussion list, grounded into a double play. Hancock walked Thomas with one out in the fifth, but got the next batter, Nolan Jones, to ground into another double play. Seattle's Randy Arozarena led off the bottom of the second with the first of his three walks and Rowdy Tellez blooped a double down the left-field line. With one out, Dominic Canzone walked to load the bases. Miles Mastrobuoni lined a single to right to open the scoring and Crawford hit a 1-2 sinker halfway up the seating area in the lower bowl in right field for his fifth career slam. The Mariners tacked on a run in the fifth as Arozarena drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on Mitch Garver's two-out single to left. Seattle's Casey Legumina and Eduard Bazardo each pitched a scoreless inning of relief to complete the shutout. The Guardians lost for the eighth time in their past 10 games. --Field Level Media
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Gerwyn Price savours massive consolation prize after darts World Cup Final loss
The Iceman is back in the Grand Slam after he and Jonny Clayton make Final in Frankfurt Cheered-up Gerwyn Price celebrated a major consolation prize after the heartbreak of World Cup Final defeat with Wales. The Iceman and partner Jonny Clayton were sunk in a dramatic last-leg decider as the 2020 and 2023 winners failed to complete a famous hat-trick when losing 10-9 to Northern Ireland. However, in beating Netherlands in the last-four to make the Final, the Cymru pair both secured spots in November's Grand Slam of Darts. That's especially sweet for Price who admitted last year it hurt him badly to miss out of the showpiece event in Wolverhampton. Having been a three-time winner in 2018, 2019 and 2021, defeat in the qualifiers in Leicester last year saw him miss the tournament for the first time since 2015 and it stung badly. But Price's ticket for 2025 is now already booked and he said: 'That was one of my aims this week and probably why I played so rubbish in the semi-final, knowing that it would get me in the Grand Slam. Then I relaxed a little bit in the Final, but things didn't really seem to happen. Probably due to the pressure of these [NI] boys throwing treble twenties for fun against us and we were up against it. "We got it at 9-9. We gave ourselves a chance, but they were a little bit better than us and they deserve it.' Price and Clayton was hugely gracious in defeat to Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney having played their part in an epic contest and simply being outdone in the thrilling shootout. Missed chances in a key 13th leg turned the tide of the Final. The former World champ , who sat out the tournament 12 months ago, said: 'I mean, we started off really slowly and we were trying to get into the game. It was really difficult. But we got ourselves in front. I think the leg to go 8-5 up was a crucial leg for us. And then we find ourselves 8-7 behind. But testament to the Irish team, Josh was scoring unbelievable. "We probably couldn't keep up with him. Last leg, I banged a 180, I thought: We got him back. Then he hits a 177 and I'm like: Oh, yeah, fair play. Gave him a high five. At the beginning of this tournament, I predicted Wales-Ireland final. I just predicted we would win. But fair play to them. They were fantastic.' Clayton echoed his partner's sentiments of congratulations to the Irish and admitted he was delighted to have his old sidekick back in harness. He said: 'Fair to Josh and Daryl. That last leg, oh my God, didn't they get off the blocks. We got it back to 9-9 and tried our best. Gezzy carried me, to be fair. I struggled starting off. "We gave it all. We get on great. It's nice to see him back in Germany! To be fair, he's just classy. I'm a proud man to be a captain here and to have a team-mate like this, oh, my God, awesome.'
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Nick Castellanos blasts grand slam as Phillies crush Blue Jays
June 15 - Nick Castellanos hit a grand slam, rookie Otto Kemp went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs and Alec Bohm also homered and drove in three runs as the Philadelphia Phillies completed a three-game series sweep of the visiting Toronto Blue Jays with an 11-4 victory on Sunday afternoon. It was the second grand slam of the season for Castellanos and the ninth of his career, tied for third among active players behind Manny Machado (12) of the San Diego Padres and Giancarlo Stanton (11) of the New York Yankees. Castellanos had a chance to hit another grand slam in the seventh but flew out to the edge of the left field warning track. Kyle Schwarber reached base four times with two hits and two walks and also drove in two runs. Trea Turner, Max Kepler, J.T. Realmuto and Bohm each had two hits for Philadelphia, which won its fourth straight game. Ten different players had at least one hit for the Phillies, who finished with 18 hits. Zack Wheeler (7-2) picked up the win allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits over six innings. He struck out nine and didn't walk a batter. Ernie Clement went 3-for-4 with two runs scored for Toronto. Jose Berrios (2-3) suffered the loss allowing six runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five. Berrios, who had allowed just one run in his three previous starts covering 18 2/3 innings, gave up two hits and a run on his first two pitches of the game as Philadelphia jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead. Turner led off with a double over the third base bag and then scored on a single to center by Schwarber. The Phillies increased the lead to 2-0 in the third on an RBI single by Bohm and made it 4-0 in the fourth on a two-run single by Kemp. Toronto cut the lead to 4-2 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Alan Roden and a throwing error by Wheeler that allowed Clement to score. Bohm put the Phillies back in front by four runs, 6-2, in the bottom of the fifth with a 433-foot two-run homer to left, and Castellanos then broke the game open with his grand slam off reliever Erik Swanson in the sixth, a 385-foot line drive to left. --Field Level Media
