Novak Djokovic wants to return to Wimbledon at least one more time (Image: Getty)
Novak Djokovic says he’d like to return to Wimbledon after bowing out in the semi-finals for the second straight year. The Serbian superstar suffered what he branded a “blowout” against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, losing 6-4 6-4 6-4 in a repeat of last year’s one-sided semi-final.
Djokovic, a seven-time champion here, will be 40 years old when Wimbledon next comes around in 2027. But he wants to be back on the hallowed grass courts, and declared: “I would like to at least one more time, let’s see.”
The No. 7 seed also admitted there was nothing more he could have done in his quest to beat Sinner and reach an 11th Wimbledon final. “No, not really. Was a good old blowout. Nothing much I could do,” he said with a wry smile.
“I mean, I was just half a step late basically in any shot, so… It’s very simple as that. He was just a level or more better than I was. I was just, you know, yeah, not sharp enough, not reactive enough, not balanced enough to play him. That’s it. There’s not much I could do on the court.”
Djokovic also confessed there was nothing he could do to break down the Sinner serve. And that was evident, as he had just one break point in the third set, almost two hours into the match, and couldn’t use it.
“Attack? You cannot attack his first serve. You can try to read it, chip it, block it, get it back in play,” he explained. “Very unpredictable serve, great variety, great balance, great pop. He’s using his height extremely well.
“Also second serve very deep in the box. A lot of rotation. He can go for speed. He doesn’t make many double-faults. He’s just super solid. He backs it up with first aggressive shot. If you play a shorter return, you’re, again, on your back foot. It’s really, really tough to play him, particularly when he serves.”
Novak Djokovic admitted Jannik Sinner was just too good (Image: Getty)
It has now been four years since Djokovic’s last Wimbledon triumph, and almost three years since his most recent Grand Slam title. The 39-year-old is still holding himself to the highest standards, even though he knows he has nothing left to prove, but continues playing because he wants to.
Asked whether he was still focused on titles or if he could take satisfaction from a run like this, Djokovic replied: “Last year I reached four semi-finals. This year, out of three slams, I reached one final and one semifinal. I guess for 99% of the players, that would be a very good Grand Slam result. For me, it’s good but not good enough, because I’m blessed and cursed to be used to something of a highest degree in terms of results and achievements.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s a good question, because in some way, I’m also dealing with myself in a sense that I’m telling myself, Look, this is amazing that you’re still able to, as people around me are telling me, able to play at such a high level and push the youngsters to the limit for Grand Slam titles, which is true. But at the same time, I always have the highest expectations for myself.
“So yeah, it’s kind of that internal battle, really, of what I’ve been through for the 20-plus years of my career, what the goals were always, the expectations, and trying to balance it out and really be a little more humble in that sense.
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“Of course, I still enjoy the thrill of competition. Maybe I don’t enjoy all the hard weeks that are leading up to big tournament, putting myself over and over again through a lot of pain, physically mostly. I’m glad that this tournament, the body held pretty well. Pretty much every other tournament in the last two years it was always something.
“That’s the main thing. I feel when I’m healthy, I’m still able to play as a top-five player, still able to compete at the highest level. I like it. I like this life. I mean, tennis has given me everything in my life and has allowed me an opportunity to become who I am.
“At the same time, you know, of course there’s always a question how far you want to go, what you want to play, how you want to play, et cetera, et cetera. I go through that process, but I try to take it, in a sense, a day at a time, see how I really feel. I don’t have any pressure or no one is forcing me to play. I do it because I really want to and because I still can. I still can play as a top-10, top-5 player. Yeah, let’s see what the future brings.”
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