Novak Djokovic has no plans to wind down his career despite being one of the oldest players on the ATP Tour.
The 37-year-old Serbian will return to action at the Brisbane International in what will be his first tournament of the new season and his first ATP event since reaching the final of the Shanghai Masters in October. Djokovic qualified for the ATP Finals in Turin but decided not to play due to injury. Since then, he has been training during the off-season with the help of his newly appointed coach Andy Murray.
“I’m looking for a good start to the season, I’m looking for more consistency across all the tournaments,” the AFP news agency quoted Djokovic as saying on Sunday.
“I’m looking to play more tournaments this year than I played last season, so hopefully also my level is going to go up.
“Hopefully I will win a few more tournaments and my ranking will go up to where it should be.”
Djokovic is currently ranked seventh in the world and is the second-oldest man in the top 100 after Gael Monfils. During 2024, he only won one title which was a gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games. He also reached the final at Wimbledon (losing to Carlos Alcaraz) and the semi-finals at the Australian Open (losing to Jannik Sinner). Overall, he achieved a win-loss record of 37-9 this year.
Eager to improve on his recent results, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has once again dismissed the idea of retirement. He is the only member of the Big Four still playing with Rafael Nadal being the latest player to step away from competitive tennis.
“The way I’m feeling today, I still think that I can go strong for years to come,” he said.
“But how long I’m going to feel motivated to keep going is unpredictable.
“I still love this sport and I still love competing.”
Project Murray
Djokovic has been tuning up his game with former rival Murray after the two spent 10 days together. Murray will not be in Brisbane but the two will reunite in Melbourne ahead of the next Grand Slam for a training block.
“Being on the same side of the net is actually great for a change because he’s been one of my greatest rivals,” Djokovic said. “In a way it was strange for me to share all these kinds of insights about how I feel on the court, sharing some of the secrets of what I’m going through, what I’m thinking about, how I see my game with somebody that has been always one of the top rivals. But I’m so glad and very thankful that he has accepted to work with me here in Australia.”
Speaking about the new partnership, Djokovic says Murray’s ‘unique’ perspective about his game is helping him. The two were born just one week apart and have played against each other 36 times on the Tour with Djokovic winning 25 of those encounters.
“He has a unique perspective on my game as one of the greatest rivals that I’ve had. He knows the pros and cons of my game,” he said.
“He has also played up to recently on the Tour, so he knows all the other best players currently in the world, the youngsters and the weaknesses and strengths in their game. So I look forward to it, I really do.
“I think he’s bringing a fresh look to my game and I think I’ll be able to benefit from that, no doubt, on the tennis court. But also that kind of champion’s mentality that he has, I’m sure that we’ll match very well.”
Djokovic is seeking his 100th title in Brisbane where he is also playing in the doubles tournament with Nick Kyrgios. His opening singles match will be against Rinky Hijikata.
