Novak Djokovic might just be about to turn 35 but he has no
intention of slowing down or stepping away from the sport anytime soon.
The Serbian currently leads the ATP rankings and is the second oldest
player in the top 20 after nemesis Rafael Nadal. In the top 100 only
six players are older than him which is led by 40-year-old Roger Federer
who is sidelined from action due to a knee injury. After his win over Kecmanovic Djokovic said:
“Every stage of your career — especially after playing for 20 years
on the Tour — has its differences in terms of how you approach things
mentally. My
life has changed so much over the last 10 years, and my body as well.
So you have to adapt to that, understand these changes, understand what
I’m going through and figure out the biology of things. I constantly
strategise, organise and plan with my team that helps me to peak at the
right time and be able to compete with the young guys.“For me, age is just a number. I sincerely feel younger than 35."
Asked how much longer he will continue to play he said:
"I choose to play. No one is forcing me to
play. I’ve done enough in my career that I could stop today. But I still
feel motivated and inspired. I love to play in front of people, of
course here in Serbia is a unique opportunity for me, and those kind of
unique occasions feed me with good energy. I love being here and I love
competing.“I also, as weird as it sounds, I love being devastated by
losing big matches. Because I know that means that I care about winning
and being able to compete with the best players in the world.”