Novak Djokovic believes playing against his younger peers on the Tour has helped enhance his motivation to continue his career at the age of 36.
The world No.1 is currently the oldest player in the ATP Top 40 and one of only two in the top 20 aged 30 or above along with Grigor Dimitrov. Despite being a veteran of the sport, Djokovic continues to be a dominant force with this season seeing him win three out of the four Grand Slam tournaments. The only exception was at Wimbledon where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final. He has also won the ATP Finals in Turin, two Masters 1000 tournaments and an ATP 250 event.
In recent months there has been speculation about who might take over from Djokovic in the future with 20-year-old Alcaraz and 22-year-old Jannik Sinner being two of the most prominent names mentioned. Unfortunately for those players, the Serbian is relishing the challenge and believes it has helped ‘awaken a beast’ in him.
“I think the young guys who are very hungry and very inspired to play their best tennis against me is an additional motivation. I think they kind of awaken a beast in me,” Djokovic told Jon Wertheim during an interview for CBS’s 60 Minutes.
The 24-time major champion explains that a key factor in his success is his ability to observe how his opponents are reacting during their match, including at changeovers. He is always on the lookout for any signs of weakness being shown.
“Even though there is no physical contact in tennis, there’s still a lot of eye contact,” Djokovic explains.
“When we are changing ends, when we’re sitting on the bench, and then the big screen shows him how he drinks his water. And then I’m looking at him. How is he drinking water? Is he sweating more than usual? Is he breathing deeply or not deeply? And then I look how he’s communicating with his team.’
“You have all these different elements that are in play that really affect the performance and the game itself.”
Djokovic is renowned for his mental strength, even when the crowd is against him. Some would say that it is a gift of his but he dismisses such a claim. Instead, he puts it all down to the work he does.
However, he admits that he is far from perfect and sometimes his anger does get the better of him.
“I have broken rackets in my life. No doubt about it. And I’m not proud about that. And I’m ashamed of myself when I do that, no doubt. But at the same time, I accept myself as a flawed human being.”
As for life after tennis, Djokovic downplays but doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of venturing into the world of politics. However, for him, the most important thing is that he will be able to continue positively contributing to society. He already has his foundation which has helped construct at least 50 preschools in his native Serbia.
“I do not have any political inspirations at the moment,” he said.
“I don’t feel that this is a world or an environment where I would thrive. But I do think that my popularity in the country and in the region can be used for some other things where I can help contribute to life and society.”
2023 is the eighth season in Djokovic’s career that he has finished as world No.1 which is more than any other player in ATP Tour history.
