"Novak Djokovic can retire right now; he has won everything" - Serb's mother Dijana
Novak Djokovic's mother Dijana opines that her son can retire right now, as he has won everything there is to be won in the sport.
On the ‘Novak Djokovic – Untold Stories’ documentary produced by Sportal, Dijana Djokovic weighed in on the topic of the 23-time Grand Slam champion's retirement, saying that it's up to him to decide when he wants to hang up his racquet.
For her, the World No. 2 has done enough to call it a day right away and still go down as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
“It’s all up to him. As far as I’m concerned, he can retire right now – he has won everything,” she said in the documentary.
With 23 Majors, Novak Djokovic has won more Slams than any other male player. In the Open Era, only Serena Williams has won as many as him. In the overall count, Margaret Court is ahead of both by one.
The former World No. 1 has also won a record 38 Masters 1000 titles and has the most weeks as World No. 1 (389) by any player in tennis history, male or female. Among other achievements, the 36-year-old is the only man to have completed the double career Golden Masters (winning every Masters 1000 title twice) and the triple career Grand Slam (winning every Major thrice).
The only big trophy missing from the Serb's cabinet is the Olympic gold medal, but he has a bronze.
"Novak Djokovic is a guy who I don't really see physically declining in any meaningful way" - Tennis analyst Gill Gross
Staying on the topic of Novak Djokovic's retirement, tennis analyst Gill Gross reckons the Serb is likely to stay physically fit for the foreseeable future.
According to Gross, the only thing that could push the World No. 2 to retire is a lack of motivation, as he has already achieved most records he had set out to accomplish.
"Djokovic is a guy who I don't really see physically declining in any meaningful way. But I have seen him suffer some ups and downs emotionally. In fact, the only real down I've seen in his career was towards the end of 2016, and 2017," Gross said.
"He has been motivated by chasing records throughout his career, which is not a bad thing. He is somebody who pays attention to record books and uses them to drive himself while competing alongside fellow greats and he tries to catch them. That is why I bring motivation into a conversation about Novak Djokovic in the next couple of years," he added.
Following a run to the final of the recently concluded Wimbledon Championships, where he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling five-setter, the 23-time Grand Slam champion could be next in action at the Cincinnati Open.