Novak Djokovic wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer - What does a man who has done it all in tennis do next?
Novak Djokovic is somewhere in Europe right now, "preparing" for the Tour de France. The rest of the tennis world, meanwhile, is in Cincinnati, fighting for their lives in the lead-up to the 2024 US Open.
Regardless, you will be hard pressed to find a single person who is worried that the defending champion will show up at Flushing Meadows woefully out of form. In fact, odds makers consider Djokovic among the favorites for the title, along with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
So why is a 24-time Grand Slam champion out there testing his cycling skills when he has a Grand Slam coming up? Why is he not out there sweating it out on a tennis court? Why is he at least not in the United States already, acclimatizing himself to the conditions in New York before starting his campaign the week after?
You see, Novak Djokovic of today is not the Novak Djokovic of last month. In July, the Serb had something he wanted. Scratch that, there was something he needed. He would not have slept a wink until he got his hands on it. Now, everything has changed.
The World No. 2, for those keeping track of the rankings, is today an Olympics gold medalist. The only major trophy that had been eluding him for so long, Djokovic finally got his hands on the medal at the Paris Olympics with an emphatic victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
With it, there is nothing left in the tennis world for the man from Belgrade to conquer. All four Grand Slams done, thrice over. With 24 Majors to his name overall, no other player in the Open Era has won as many as Djokovic. All nine Masters 1000 trophies done, twice over. WIth 40 to his name, no one has won as many as him. No one, in fact, has even won all nine Masters 1000 titles even once. Such is Djokovic's dominance of the game.
The Career Golden Slam now accomplished, there is really not much left for the 37-year-old to look forward to. Yes, there are a few ATP 500 and ATP 250 titles that he hasn't won, but they don't really mean much in the grand scheme of things, do they? So it would make sense that Djokovic is taking it light now, especially after two decades of depriving himself of every little joy (like chocolate) to make sure he stays in the zone until he has rewritten every record in the history books.
Realistically, what is left for Novak Djokovic to achieve next?
Considering Novak Djokovic is now 37, there is not a lot more that he can shoot for that he hasn't already done. First there is the idea of beating Margaret Court's overall Grand Slam record. For that, the World No. 2 just has to win one more Major. Perhaps it is something he can get locked up by next year.
Then there is the Calendar Slam, an achievement he has come painfully close to in 2021 before losing the final of the US Open to Daniil Medvedev. Winning all four Majors in a calendar year is not common -- only Rod Laver and Steffi Graf have done so in the Open Era until now.
It will not be an easy task for the Serb, but it is not entirely out of the realm of possibility either. If Djokovic sets his mind to it and decides to focus solely on the achievement and forget everything else for one year, it is very much possible that he can get it done before hanging up the racket.
How will Rafael Nadal's upcoming retirement affect Novak Djokovic?
Then there is the matter of one Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard, Novak Djokovic's self-admitted "biggest rival," is likely to say goodbye to tennis at the end of this season. Nadal hasn't confirmed that 2024 is his last on the ATP Tour but has strongly hinted that it might be.
With Roger Federer and Andy Murray already retired, that makes Djokovic the last standing member of the fabled Big-4. 37 himself, the idea of retirement cannot be that far ahead in the Serb's mind. In that case, seeing Nadal ride off into the sunset is likely to make him contemplate it even further, maybe even push him into a similar decision sooner than otherwise expected.
What does the tennis world think of Novak Djokovic's future?
Interestingly, members of the tennis community do not seem to think Novak Djokovic is anywhere close to being done just yet.
Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou is of the opinion that the World No. 2 will play for a couple more years at the highest level, motivated by his success at the Paris Olympics.
"So what's going to happen now in the future? He [Novak Djokovic] is in a great shape, he plays unbelievable tennis. He is ready to compete I think 2, 3, 4 years at the highest level," Mouratoglou said.
It is a sentiment shared by the 24-time Grand Slam champion's former coach Goran Ivanisevic, who believes he might "never retire."
"I am so glad that he finally won this gold. I wish him 25th Slam, to break the absolute record, and then he can retire, although he will never retire, this guy. I think he can find the motivation, the gold will lift him. If he plays like this, he is the man to beat at the US Open," Ivanisevic said.
Sam Querrey is of a similar belief, stating in a recent interview that he thinks the former World No. 1 is going to be even more dangerous at the upcoming US Open now that he is more relaxed than he has ever been in his life.
"I expect him to be ready to go at the US Open and honestly I feel like he’s going to be in the US Open playing which is house money. He has accomplished everything there is to accomplish . I think he’s going to be relaxed, kind of as loose as ever. He’s going to be even more dangerous in New York," Querrey said.
What has Novak Djokovic said about his own future?
As for the man himself, Novak Djokovic, understandably, has no clear idea of what the future holds. Speaking after his Paris Olympics triumph, the 37-year-old said:
"I know that I have already won all the big tournaments, but I still love this sport, I love competing, training day after day, continuing to improve and taking care of my body. Tennis means a lot to me and I do my best to give back to this sport everything it has given me. I don't know what the future holds, now is the time to celebrate."
Truth is, Novak Djokovic could retire TODAY and he will still go down as the GOAT without having to worry about that tag being taken away from him anytime soon. Carlos Alcaraz, who is seen by almost everyone as the next big thing in men's tennis, is 20 Grand Slam titles away from beating the Serb's tally.
Assuming he wins one Major every year, it will take the 21-year-old two decades just to catch up. Even if he wins two Grand Slams a year going forward, an extremely difficult task, Alcaraz will need one decade of continuous excellence just to catch up. Then there are the World No. 1 weeks tally and the Masters 1000 tally and the Olympic gold medal... one begins to see the mammoth nature of the task up ahead for anyone wanting to beat Djokovic.
And would anyone really be surprised if Novak Djokovic announces in the coming weeks that he is no longer going to play tennis? There are no more worlds to conquer for tennis' very own Alexander the Great. There is nothing to aim for anymore. There are no goal posts to shoot at anymore. He is no longer the pursuer. He is no longer the race horse with blinders. Motivation is a fickle, fickle thing and it is about to go from 100 to 0 for one of the biggest record-chasers tennis has ever seen.
No matter what happens, one thing is for certain: This is going to be a Djokovic we have never, ever experienced until now. How is that going to be? No one knows really, not even the man himself. But if anything we know about Djokovic so far is any indication, it is going to be so much fun.