Andy Roddick gives his verdict on Novak Djokovic’s bold retirement plan and he is not convinced
Novak Djokovic has claimed that he wants to end his career representing Serbia at the 2028 Olympic Games, but that ambition appears to be highly ambitious for a player who will be 41 by the time that event rolls around.
Djokovic has made it clear that he is no longer motivated to play in a lot of regular ATP Tour events, with his actions in recent days highlighting how little regard he now has for the tournaments outside of the Grand Slams.
His decision to play in an ATP 250 event in Athens that is owned by his own family and then pull out of the prestigious ATP Finals was not a surprise, but the manner of his announcement confirming his absence in Turin raised plenty of question marks.
Djokovic was in the draw for the ATP Finals and he left Lorenzo Musetti and Felix Auger-Aliassime waiting on his decision, as their participation in Turin hung on whether the Serbian was going to play.
His Instagram announcement confirming he would not play was expected, but it broke several unwritten rules of etiquette in tennis, as Djokovic snubbed the ATP’s biggest event after making it clear that little love is lost between him and men’s tour chiefs.
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If he was to continue his career for another two-and-a-half years, he would need to play in some ATP Tour events to keep himself active and also maintain his ranking, but it seems unlikely he will be keen to do that given his lack of activity over the last couple of years.
Djokovic spoke about his plans to retire at the Los Angeles Olympics after his win in Athens on Saturday, as he admitted he didn’t know if he would get to that point in his sporting journey.
“I’ve always had this throughout my life and my career, I’ve always had a schedule in my head for a year or more, what I want, how I want it,” he told reporters.
“Since I’ve achieved absolutely all possible goals, I said about the 2028 Olympics because I wanted to play for so many more years. So maybe ending up at the Olympic Games with the Serbian flag, that would be nice.”
He then pondered whether that ambition was realistic, as he added this note of uncertainty: “I don’t know, I mean, I really don’t know, because there are some things that are not entirely in my control. I’m trying to be as healthy as possible mentally and physically.”
Now former world No 1 Roddick has reacted to Djokovic’s comments and he is not convinced a plan to play until the summer of 2028 is realistic for Djokovic.
When asked whether he expects Djokovic to be in the draw for the 2028 Olympics, he offered up this response on his latest Served podcast.
“I don’t think so. I hope I’m wrong,” said Roddick. “Him saying I want to retire at the 2028 Olympics with a Serbian flag in my hand was the perfect way to address many, many issues that are going on right now.
“The never-ending question of when are you going to retire? When I want to! I like it, I enjoy it and I’m getting paid $100m-a-year. Oh and by the way, I made the semis of four Slams this year.
“Two, I know I live in Greece and there is a lot of chatter about him moving to Greece, largely due to political reasons in Serbia. This was a really smart way to say my heart is with Serbia and I want to retire with the Serbian flag in my hand.”
Djokovic looks set to play at the Australian Open in January, but the idea that he will try and win a second gold medal in two and half years seems highly unlikely.
