Novak Djokovic reveals he’s ‘hopeful’ of playing beyond 40-years-old
Novak Djokovic has drawn comparisons to American football legend Tom Brady, with the Serb revealing that he would like to still be playing at 40-years-old.
Djokovic is currently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, gearing up to play an exhibition match against world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz later today.
When speaking to reporters, Djokovic spoke about how he takes inspiration from the aforementioned Brady, “Tom Brady is a great example of a champion in his sport and someone that has had such a great career and longevity.”
The 24-time Grand Slam champion continued, “He has put a lot of hours and a lot of time into self-care, into recovery, into making sure that in a way every aspect of his body and mind is covered so that he can have a long-lasting, successful career.
“I know him personally and I learned a lot from him, from his example, and hopefully I can have a career that goes up to 40 or maybe even beyond — let’s see.”
Brady played 23 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), winning a record seven Super Bowls before retiring earlier this year at the age of 45.
Today in Riyadh ?? @RiyadhSeason @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/k3RFId7GQZ
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) December 26, 2023
Djokovic then went onto speak about his opponent and closest rival, Alcaraz, “Our era is coming to an end, but you have Alcaraz emerging which is great, and I was very happy that I had four very good matches with him this year. Each match attracted a lot of attention, we had a lot of great highlights and it’s good, it’s good for our sport.”
The 36-year-old has beaten Alcaraz in three of the four matches they’ve played this year, with his one defeat coming in the Wimbledon final, and explained about how he is feeling heading into the 22nd year as a professional tennis player.
“I feel great in my own body right now and I’ve been playing some really high-quality tennis,” said Djokovic. “2023 was one of the best seasons I’ve had in my life and why stop while you’re still playing great? So I’ll keep going and take [each] year, one by one, and see how far I go.”
After playing his exhibition match against Alcaraz later today, Djokovic will then head to Perth for the United Cup, with his first match of the season taking place against Zhizhen Zhang on Sunday 31st December.
Inside the baseline…
Novak Djokovic has had another incredible season this year, winning three Grand Slam titles, two Masters 1000 crowns and the ATP Finals, finishing the year as world No.1 for a record eighth time. Djokovic appears to be getting better and better, especially mentally, so it doesn’t appear unrealistic that he could continue playing for another four years.
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