Novak Djokovic makes telling ‘motivation’ comment in ‘biggest goals’ admission after Shanghai final
Novak Djokovic has revealed he will maintain his motivation to keep playing as long as he believes he can “go toe-to-toe with the big guys” after his loss to Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai final.
The legendary Serb also admitted he has already achieved all of the biggest goals in his career as he discussed missing out on winning his 100th ATP title.
Djokovic fell to a 6-7(4), 3-6 defeat to the world No 1 in the championship match at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai.
The 37-year-old was aiming to become the third player to win 100 ATP singles titles after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.
Djokovic secured his 99th career title at the 2024 Paris Olympics in August, where he produced a stunning performance to overcome Carlos Alcaraz in the gold medal match.
The Olympics is the only tournament Djokovic has won since his triumph at the ATP Finals in November last year.
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In his press conference after the Shanghai final, Djokovic was asked how significant it would be to win his 100th title.
“I mean, that’s a bonus, you know, if that can happen. I mean, I definitely wish it to happen today, but it wasn’t meant to be,” he said.
“I mean, I got to keep striving to make it happen somewhere in the near future, hopefully. And, yeah, I mean, it’s not live-or-die type of goal for me, I think I’ve achieved all of my biggest goals in career.
“Right now it’s really about Slams and about, you know, still seeing how far I can kind of push the bar for myself.
“As long as I perform the way I performed actually this week, and I think I can go toe-to-toe with the big guys, yeah, as long as that’s the case, I guess I’ll still feel the need to keep on competing, and motivation to be out there, and let’s see how long that’s going to last for.”
The 24-time Grand Slam winner also explained that his motivation comes from his love for tennis as he outlined his intention to play in 2025.
“Yeah, I mean, my main motivation comes from love and passion for the sport, and also the desire to keep competing,” Djokovic divulged.
“These are kind of the matches and challenges that I still strive for, to be in a position to play against the best players in the world, on the biggest stage, in the finals of some of the biggest tournaments in the world.
“So, you know, that’s what I work for and why I still keep on pushing myself. Yeah, I mean, that’s all that can be said about that.
“I don’t know what future brings, I’ll just, you know, try to kind of go with the flow to see how I feel in a given moment. I still plan to compete and play next season and, yeah, let’s see how far I go.”
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