There are question marks about how much longer Novak Djokovic will play, and former Australian Open semifinalist Patrick McEnroe thinks next year might be his last before retirement.
Roger Federer's retirement at the 2022 Laver Cup and Rafael Nadal's upcoming farewell at the forthcoming Davis Cup Finals means Djokovic will be the only member of the trio that dominated tennis for so long still playing.
The Serbian was visibly emotional after playing Nadal for the final time before he retires at the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia, paying tribute to his rival and calling him an incredible person.
Djokovic also admitted that a big part of him has already left the sport since Federer, Nadal, and Andy Murray announced their retirements. That made some wonder if the 37-year-old would have the will to keep competing.
At this late stage of his career, Djokovic plays much fewer tournaments than in previous years to prioritize the four Grand Slams and representing Serbia, which explains his withdrawal from the ongoing Paris Masters.
However, that approach has not brought him success at the Grand Slams this season. 2024 is the first year since 2017 that the former world No. 1 failed to win a major title. The closest he came was losing the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz.
Speaking on the Tennis Channel's Inside-In Podcast, McEnroe predicted that 2025 will be his final year, even though the American thinks that Djokovic is the third favorite for the Australian Open behind Sinner and Alcaraz.
"I think this will be his last year. It's gotta be very tough to win more Majors. If the Australian Open starts tomorrow, he is the third favorite. That's pretty solid. Rafa [Nadal] would have come back. Rafa wanted to play more and so did [Roger] Federer. They certainly didn't think they had to win but they wanted to [play]. I think Novak would be the same."
McEnroe pointed to the Australian Open and Wimbledon as majors he can still win, and also mentioned the Olympic gold he secured on clay at the Olympics this year, which was his biggest goal for the season.
"He is obviously still in the mix in a big way. There's no doubt he can win the Australian Open. He won the Olympics on clay, which was amazing. Yes, he can win 1 or 2 more...Wimbledon obviously. There's still not that many great grasscourt players."
Although McEnroe acknowledges that Sinner and Alcaraz have separated themselves this year by splitting the four Grand Slams in 2024, he thinks Djokovic still has a shot and will keep playing while that remains the case.
"[Jannik] Sinner, I think will be dangerous on every surface as we have seen him winning two Hardcourt Majors. He can obviously play on things."
"Those two guys [Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz] have separated themselves. Novak knows in a big spot he can still be there. As long as he thinks he has got a shot, I believe he will play."
0 Comments