The father of Novak Djokovic has put a date on his son's future retirement, and while it's only his wish it could come true.
Novak Djokovic has been one of the best players on the ATP Tour for almost two decades now. The Serbian started his journey many years ago and quickly became one of the best players, with the GOAT mantle often used along with his name.
Retirement, though, is closer than ever in his career, simply because he, too, is losing the battle against time. He's doing far better than most in the battle, but sooner or later, every tennis career comes to an end, and so will his. He spoke about it a few times, admitting that he's far away from it, and his recent results back that up.
There is no reason for Djokovic to retire when he's as good as he is. Winning Roland Garros, and almost winning Wimbledon are all proof that he's still got plenty to give to tennis, but it all comes down to motivation.
His body will likely hold up for a few more years but will he be motivated to grind daily in order to remain one of the best players? As he ages, he needs to do more and more to keep up, and it's not something his father isn't particularly glad about. Srdjan Djokovic spoke about his son in a recent documentary admitting that he would like to see him retire at the end of 2024.
Some young people to take their place so that he can slowly...Not that it ends, but in a year and a half...It's my wish as a father. I mean I thought he should have stopped doing this terribly difficult job a long time ago.
This is not a sport, this is terribly difficult work, in every way, both physically and mentally. Because he still has very little of life as he is maximally dedicated to his job, for years 30 now and he's not letting up a bit.
It's not a confirmation of anything but a father wanting to see his son replace his strenuous work with something more enjoyable. He's proven more than he needed to over the years, but the hunger that Djokovic has is specific to him.
Many would agree that stopping after 2024 would be very surprising but this is the first time we hear a date with a speculative future retirement.
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