WIMBLEDON, England — Lower than an hour after leaving the court docket following his straight-sets loss to Jannik Sinner within the semifinals, Novak Djokovic mentioned he did not consider this might be his ultimate Wimbledon look.
The 38-year-old had an emotional exit as he walked off the court docket following the 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 defeat. He turned to wave to all sides of Centre Court docket as the group gave him a standing ovation. When requested whether or not he can be unhappy if that was the final match of his profession on the All England Membership, he mentioned that he can be however that he did not suppose it was.
“Hopefully it is not my final match on the Centre Court docket,” Djokovic mentioned, “I am not planning to complete my Wimbledon profession right this moment. So I am planning to come back again positively at the very least yet one more time, play on the Centre Court docket, for certain.”
Djokovic, a 24-time main champion from Serbia, had hinted at his impending retirement following his French Open loss final month in the identical spherical, additionally to Sinner, when he mentioned it may have been “the final match ever I performed right here.”
Subsequently his information convention on Friday garnered heavy curiosity, with almost each seat occupied. The media theater was so stuffed with reporters that it drew a “wow” from Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion, when he was rescheduled on the final minute to talk throughout Djokovic’s preliminary time slot.
Whereas Djokovic admitted Friday that he had been bodily compromised “fairly a bit” in the course of the match — with out providing any specifics — and mentioned how tough it has been to lose to Sinner and Alcaraz in latest conferences, he mentioned he believed he was nonetheless taking part in nicely at Grand Slams.
“I’ve put every little thing I probably can in relation to coaching and getting ready myself so I can play my finest at Grand Slams,” Djokovic mentioned. “I believe, no matter the truth that I have never gained a Grand Slam this 12 months, or final 12 months, I nonetheless really feel like I proceed to play my finest tennis at Grand Slams. These are the tournaments that I care about at this stage of my profession essentially the most.”
Djokovic added that he would seek the advice of together with his staff and his household within the close to future to find out how finest to proceed together with his schedule “and the place I wish to peak and the way I wish to prepare.” He had beforehand mentioned he deliberate to play within the US Open, which begins Aug. 24 in New York.
Thought-about among the many finest to ever play the game, Djokovic tied Margaret Court docket’s long-standing file for essentially the most main singles titles in historical past on the US Open in 2023. After such a robust season, by which he gained three of the 12 months’s 4 Slam titles and completed because the year-end No. 1, he seemed poised to seize the mark outright.
However since then he has reached only one main ultimate (dropping to Alcaraz at Wimbledon final 12 months) and 4 semifinals. He captured Olympic gold in Paris final summer time — the one substantial title he had but to win — however has in any other case gained only one ATP title in that span. Alcaraz and Sinner, who will compete Sunday for the 2025 Wimbledon trophy, have mixed to win the previous six Slam titles. Djokovic mentioned the duo are “positively a number of ranges above everybody proper now.”