Novak Djokovic’s father makes colossal 2024 ‘retirement’ wish for Serbia star: ‘Slowly but surely…’

Novak Djokovic has achieved nearly everything a tennis player can aspire to achieve, and even at the age of 36, remains one of the finest and most athletic players on tour. Despite the disappointment of the loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, it has been a highly successful year for the Serb, who won a tenth Australian Open title before he broke the men’s grand slam record with a victory at the French Open.

Although he remains at the top of his game, at world number 2 in the ATP rankings, Djokovic has also begun to pace himself in terms of workload, focussing on Grand Slams. Djokovic was also emotional following the conclusion of the Wimbledon final, breaking down while speaking to his son Stefan during the trophy ceremony.

In light of this, Djokovic’s father has spoken out about what the future could hold for Novak, at least from his perspective. Speaking on Sportal’s Novak Djokovic documentary, Srdjan Djokovic claimed that he wished to see his son retire from the sport within a few months, leaving him more time for his family with everything in tennis already in his pocket.

“As far as my wishes for him go, he has already fulfilled them all seven-eight years ago. The rest is this amazing bonus,” said Srdjan Djokovic. “Tennis is only one segment of his life, not his whole life, I expect him to be recognized for the things he will do after his career ends as well, after he leaves the tennis world, which I hope it will happen next year.”

The end of 2024 has already been marked out at the last time Djokovic’s great rival Rafael Nadal will take to the tennis courts, with age and injury getting to the Spaniard. It also comes soon after Roger Federer’s announcement of his own retirement in 2022, signalling the end of the ‘big 3’ era.

“And for Novak to slowly but surely… It’s not the end, but in a year-and-a-half let’s say… My wish as a father – I think for some time that he should have stopped working this extremely difficult job,” continued Srdjan. “It’s physically and mentally challenging and very demanding – with him being fully dedicated for 30 years, and not taking his foot off the gas, there is not much time for other things in life.”

Djokovic has a young family, with one son and one daughter, and might look to spend more time with them, his wife, and his parents in coming years, with the tennis tour being a hectic and year-long endeavor. Nonetheless, Djokovic is still one of the best players on tour, and will no doubt want to add some more grand slams to his tally. Significantly, his eyes could be on the 2024 Paris Olympics, with the gold medal being one of the few things he hasn’t successfully tracked down over his illustrious career.

Djokovic recently pulled out of the Rogers Cup Masters in Canada in August, but might look to compete in the Cincinnati Masters as a warm-up to the US Open in September, where he will battle for his fourth trophy at Flushing Meadows.