Novak Djokovic may have dropped his biggest retirement hint yet after Australian Open exit
Novak Djokovic gave a glimpse into his mindset as he pondered whether he had played his last match at the Australian Open.
The retirement question was never likely to come Djokovic’s way as he dominated the men’s game with ruthless brilliance, but now he has found a player who appears to have his number in Jannik Sinner.
The Italian has beaten Djokovic in three of their last four meetings, with his win against the Serbian at the Davis Cup and his Australian Open semi-finals victory leaving mental scars the world No 1 has not been used to receiving in the last decade.
A deep dive into Djokovic’s post-match press conference threw up a comment that may have more significance than we appreciate, as it appeared to suggest Novak is closer to the end of his career than we might have expected.
“I just hope that I’ll get a chance to come back to play at least another time and go through the emotions once more,” he declared.
Djokovic clarified comments that appeared to hint he may be planning to retire soon as he added: “This is not the feeling that I’m used to. I mean, it kind of has been incredibly satisfying for me to start off most of my seasons with a Grand Slam win and never lost in semis or finals of Australian Open.
“So this time it’s a bit different, but it is what it is. Let’s see. I don’t know. This tournament hasn’t been, as I said, up to my standard or criteria or the level that I would normally play or expect myself to play, but doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s beginning of the end, you know, as some people like to call it.”
They were comments comment that raised plenty of eyebrows as up to now, Djokovic has always hinted he would carry on play for as long as he was winning, but maybe now he appreciates his powers are finally waning.
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In the opinion of former world No 1 Mats Wilander, Djokovic’s comments so soon after a heavy beating need to be put into context.
“He is obviously older and he has been lucky so far not to have too many injuries,” Wilander told Eurosport.
“I think sometimes you come out there and you don’t play well. He looked a little bit flat and that was a little bit weird. It’s happened to me and lots of other players.”
Former world No 1 John McEnroe echoed those sentiments, as he suggested time may finally be catching up with Djokovic.
“I was just amazed how flat Djokovic was emotionally and physically,” said McEnroe. “As we know Father Time is undefeated and he’s done so well for so long that at some point, you have to think it will catch up with him. It catches up with all of us at some point!
“This was one of the worst days I’ve seen from him for a long time in a major.”
Djokovic is still the undisputed world No 1 and until he is beaten consistently in Grand Slam tournaments, his dominance at the top of the game cannot be declared as over.
Yet Wilander and McEnroe are not alone in asking questions about Djokovic after his uncertain performances in Melbourne.
