"I just felt miserable and felt maybe this is the moment": Novak Djokovic was done with tennis after 2018 Miami Open

Novak Djokovic has shown himself to be not slowing down in the slightest with the great Serbian still winning titles and still at the top of his game at the age of 36. But there was a moment where he nearly quit the sport during 2018 and decided initially to walk away.

Back in 2018, he was plagued by an elbow injury for more than a year. After trying to fix it, he had enough and was losing matches and wasn't himself on the court. He told his team after the 2018 Miami Open that he was done with tennis.

Read also

ATP PREVIEW | 2024 Miami Open: Can Carlos ALCARAZ claim Sunshine Double amid chasing pack led by Jannik SINNER and Daniil MEDVEDEV

TV GUIDE: How to watch 2024 Miami Open including Carlos ALCARAZ, Iga SWIATEK, Coco GAUFF and Aryna SABALENKA

His team urged him to reconsider after he admitted that he saw it as the next chapter incoming. He would undergo surgery for his elbow and it worked out from there. Albeit he has struggled at times since with the issue including recently, he spoke during a talk on stage at the Upfront Summit.

"I had a fantastic career, and no one was really telling me 'Maybe you should think of slowing down.' I did feel like I wanted to leave tennis, I must say that, particularly a few months after the surgery."

"I played the worst tennis that I ever played. I was losing to guys that I never lost to, and I just felt miserable on the court, and I felt, 'maybe this is the moment.' So I gathered my team and I told them I was starting to distance myself from professional tennis, I though it was maybe time for the next chapter."