"I don’t like people going round saying ‘he should quit’" - Jimmy Connors stands up for Novak Djokovic as he takes dig at critics

Novak Djokovic is still going strong in tennis. The 38-year-old continues to be recognised as one of the best players in the world. While he is not competing regularly with the absolute best, the quality is still on show for many. Eight-time Grand Slam champion Jimmy Connors called out fans for saying Djokovic should quit, while stating that Djokovic should only do what is best for him.

Djokovic has only competed in two tournaments this year, keeping up with the trend of missing out on tournaments and being tactical on where he plays. He withdrew from the Adelaide international before making a heroic run to the final of the Australian Open, defeating Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller in the semi-final stage before coming unstuck against Carlos Alcaraz.

He then opted to rest and preserve his body for the Sunshine swing, skipping the Qatar Open to focus on success at Indian Wells. That did not come with 2025 champion Jack Draper ending his tournament in the last-16. He was set to compete for a seventh Miami Open title, but a shoulder injury has forced him to make the tough decision not to compete, sitting out ahead of the highly anticipated clay swing.

Despite his love for the 24-time Grand Slam champion, Connors knew that he would not be at the top of his game forever. “I like rooting for Novak [but] it catches up with everybody, getting older, recuperating not as fast and it wears on you mentally a little bit more when you have those long matches," he said on The Advantage Connors podcast.

The acknowledgement is there that he is doing everything he can to still be in peak physical shape to challenge for the biggest titles in tennis. “But he works on it on a daily basis and I think we talked about this before, he takes care of himself, he eats the right food, he gets in a chamber, he does whatever he can to keep his fitness and do whatever he needs to do to play at that level."

With this, there is no sign that he is going anywhere, hinting that he will continue until the 2028 Olympics. Whilst there are tennis fans out there calling for him to hang up his racket, Connors had a firm message to those people. “Here is another thing I don’t like," he commented. "I don’t like people going round saying ‘he should quit’. There is only one guy who is going to tell me that he’s going to quit, and that’s him."

It is obvious that the motivation is there to win more silverware and cement his name even further into tennis folklore, but American also touches on the fact that he is still enjoying the sport. “You can’t take away something that somebody loves so much," he said. "The way that he has played, his record shows it, how much he enjoys doing what he is doing, and still trying to be at the level that satisfies him. I think that is more the key."

The time will come when Djokovic calls it a day in tennis and moves on to other things. When that day will be, no one knows yet. What is the case, in Connors eyes, is that it is his choice only and the Serbian should not be a crowd pleaser, instead doing what he wants to do, whether that upsets anyone.

“I don’t think he has to please anybody. He does not have to please me; I’m a spectator," he stated. “He has to please himself, and if he walks out of there and feels like he has done everything that he can, which he does, and it seems like he does every day, you cannot ask for any more than that.”