Despite being turned away again as he attempted to earn his record-setting 25th Grand Slam title, Novak Djokovic seemed upbeat about his future.
Minutes after being on the wrong end of a convincing 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat to defending champion Jannik Sinner in Friday’s second semifinal on Center Court at Wimbledon, the 39-year old told reporters he plans to return to London next summer.
“I would like to, at least one more time,” said Djokovic. “Let’s see.”
The Serbian failed in his 11th attempt to reach the historic milestone. He captured the 2023 U.S. Open, but has been unable to even reach the finals in nine of 11 chances. Djokovic fell to Carlos Alcaraz at both Wimbledon in 2024 and Sydney (Australian Open) earlier this year.
Margaret Court captured 24 majors from 1960-73. Djokovic holds the record on the men’s side, ahead of Rafael Nadal’s 22 and Roger Federer’s 20.
Djokovic only managed to earn one break point which he failed to convert against Sinner in the 2-hour, 20-minute duel. The failure marked only the third time in his career in Grand Slam events that the man regarded as the game’s best returner of serve could not break his opponent.
“I wanted to win Wimbledon. That’s the reason why I’m still pushing myself so hard,” Djokovic said. “But I just lost to a better player. I have to accept it.”
The seventh-seeded Djokovic ousted third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, 7-6 (10) 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) in a five-hour, 15-minute classic on Tuesday.
“I’m proud of what I achieved three nights ago,” said Djokovic. “Felix is fourth player in the world. I’ve proven to myself and others that I can still play at the highest level, and I have.”
Djokovic shook off the disappointment of a rare early exit in a major when he lost to Brazil’s Joao Fonseca in the third round of the French Open last month.
“Of course, I still enjoy the thrill of competition,” said Djokovic. “I feel when I’m healthy, I’m still able to play as a top-five player, still able to compete at the highest level. I like it. I like this life. I mean, tennis has given me everything in my life and has allowed me an opportunity to become who I am.
“At the same time … of course there’s always a question how far you want to go, what you want to play, how you want to play, etc. I go through that process, but I try to take it, in a sense, a day at a time, see how I really feel. I don’t have any pressure or no one is forcing me to play. I do it because I really want to and because I still can. I still can play as a top-10, top-five player. Yeah, let’s see what the future brings.”
–Field Level Media
