As his tennis contemporaries continue to head off into retirement, Novak Djokovic is being faced with the reality that his time on the professional courts, too, will come to an end.
Ahead of his first-round matchup with American Mackenzie McDonald on Tuesday at the French Open, Djokovic — along with Roger Federer and Andy Murray — was a part of the ceremony celebrating Roland-Garros legend Rafael Nadal on Sunday. Nadal, a 14-time French Open champion, retired this past November, leaving the 38-year-old Djokovic as the last man standing from the “Big Four.”
Amazingly, Djokovic picked up his 100th career title on Saturday, defeating Hubert Hurkacz in the Geneva Open final. That win gave Djokovic badly-needed momentum after a recent run that saw him exit in the opening round in four of five recent tournaments. He now enters the French Open seeking to extend his record for most Grand Slam tournaments won to 25.
“You start to maybe doubt your game,” Djokovic said Monday of his prior poor run of form. “You don’t want to be in that state of the mind coming into Grand Slams.”
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While Djokovic’s mind may be on the current tournament, participating in Nadal’s farewell put things in perspective.
“Honestly, I was thinking about my end of the road as well yesterday when we were watching Rafa having his speech,” Djokovic said. “Particularly those moments when we were in the back room, the three of us, and I was just, yeah, obviously talking to Federer and Murray about their goodbyes and reminiscing and reflecting on the rivalries, and of course part of me is proud that I’m still there, that I’m still going, but at the same time, I was, and I still am, a bit sad that they’re all gone because those guys were my greatest motivations for why I competed so intensely and for so long.”
Despite the admission that he had thoughts about the “end of the road,” Djokovic was elusive on when the day may come that he walks away from his historic career.
“I didn’t think about the exact date, if that’s what you’re looking for,” Djokovic said.
