"I feel I can do for my country much more without getting in politics" - When Novak Djokovic spoke about his potential political future
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic once spoke openly about his prospective political future, claiming that he could do much more for his homeland, Serbia, without getting involved in politics.
The Serb made the remarks after winning the 2015 ATP World Tour Finals title. He defeated six-time champion Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 in the championship match despite losing to the Swiss in the round-robin stage.
Djokovic ended the season on a high note, winning 11 titles, including three Majors (the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) and a record six ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles.
He also reached the French Open final, but his run was cut short by Stan Wawrinka.
Novak Djokovic was asked if he would be interested in pursuing a political career during a press conference following his season-ending title triumph.
The Serb replied in the negative, saying he felt he could accomplish far more for his country without getting involved in politics.
"Do I see myself in politics right now? No, I don't. I feel like I can do for my country much more without getting in politics, through the work that I do, through foundation, many different ways that I can contribute to the positive image of my country," the Serb said.
"I do follow politics. Politics is part of everybody's life, of course. I try to not get politically involved because I think sport and politics should be at this level separated a little bit. But in many countries it's all kind of linked to each other and I'm aware of that," he added.
The 36-year-old expressed his disinterest in a career in this field due to the nature of his country's and other countries' political systems. However, he left the possibility open for the future.
"But also I'm obviously somebody that is not competent maybe to talk to politics. But the way I see things right now, the political system in our country right now, as in many countries, doesn't really work. That's one of the reasons I'm not really interested to get in the midst of that," Djokovic said.
"But who knows what the future brings. I need to be aware that it's not only me making decision, it's my family, it's close people to me. It's still a long way. I still see myself playing tennis hopefully on a high level for many years to come. When the time comes, we'll see," he added.
A look into Novak Djokovic's historic 24th Grand Slam title win at US Open 2023
Novak Djokovic cemented his status as the greatest tennis player of all time earlier in September, beating Daniil Medvedev in the 2023 US Open final to win a record 24th Grand Slam singles title.
The 36-year-old equaled Margaret Court's record for the most Grand Slam singles titles in the history of the sport. However, he stands alone as the sole player to win 24 Majors in the Open Era.
En route to the title, the Serb defeated Alexandre Muller, Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Laslo Djere, and Borna Gojo in the first four rounds before meeting American Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals.
Djokovic defeated the American in straight sets before facing youngster Ben Shelton in the last four. He then eliminated the 20-year-old to meet Daniil Medvedev in the final.
It was a rematch of the duo's clash in the 2021 US Open title bout, in which Medvedev denied his older opponent a Career Grand Slam.