Shortly after his historic success at the ATP tournament in Athens, tennis star Novak Djokovic spoke about a possible time for his impending retirement.
Novak Djokovic made tennis history this week. In the final in Athens he defeated the Italian Lorenzo Musetti 2:6, 6:3, 7:5 and became the oldest tournament winner on the ATP tour at 38 years and five months.
For the Serb it was the 101st title on the professional tour. Record holder Jimmy Connors is missing eight tournament victories.
How long he will be on the professional tour is unclear. There is always speculation about the timing of the veteran star’s farewell. After the final in Athens, Djokovic spoke about his future plans. Djokovic has one tournament in particular in mind.
“I always have a plan in my head about what I want to achieve and how I want to shape my next few years,” said Djokovic after the triumph in Athens.
Novak Djokovic dreams of saying goodbye to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles
“Since I have basically achieved all possible goals, I talked about the 2028 Olympic Games because I would like to continue playing for a few more years. It would be nice to end my career at the Olympic Games with the Serbian flag,” the 28-year-old continued.
The 2028 Summer Olympics will take place in Los Angeles. Djokovic won the gold medal in Paris in 2024.
However, the hardships of the tour do not make this farewell plan final.
“I don’t know if it will really happen in the end. Some things are out of my control. I try to stay as physically and mentally fit as possible,” said Djokovic.
After the final victory in Athens, the Serb canceled his participation in the ATP Finals in Turin. His final opponent Lorenzo Musetti took his place.