“I'm asking myself questions more now than I have ever before”: Novak Djokovic opens up about future uncertainty after US Open third-round win

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has opened up about his future goals after an impressive performance at the US Open. The 38-year-old cemented his spot in the fourth round of the fourth and the final Grand Slam of the year after beating Britain’s Cameron Norrie with a score of 6-4, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3.

Djokovic has been in impressive form while playing at the major events this year. In all three Grand Slams before this one, Djokovic managed to cement a spot in the semifinal of every one of them but failed to secure a spot in the final on every occasion.

After losing in the semifinal at Wimbledon, Djokovic admitted that at his age, he is finding it hard to compete against players like Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who are on the top of their game and have age on their side as well. While speaking to the media after winning the third round contest at the US Open, Djokovic was asked how his body is reacting now and what his future goals will be going forward.

In response, Djokovic stated that he does not have a clear answer to such a question. The 24-time Grand Slam winner noted that his priority remains to focus on the next match and will try to think about other things once this competition ends. Djokovic stated that his comments after the Wimbledon semifinal defeat were intended to explain his thought process, as he has begun to ask himself more questions about when it will be the right time to stop.

“Well, I think I was, yeah, quite open in the press conference after [Wimbledon] semis,” said Djokovic. “Gave a little bit of insight of what's happening in my head. I mean, I'm asking myself questions, of course, more, you know, nowadays than I have been ever before in terms of like, you know, how long do I want to keep going at this level and how do I want to approach my schedule to kind of extend my career? Because I really want to play. I still feel like I enjoy myself competing. I can be very hard on myself and my team. I know that, but I still feel like I have a game left in me, you know, to play at the highest level. And as I said before several times, as long as I have that feeling of really that level is still alive, is still present, I feel like I want to keep going. I want to keep pushing myself to see, you know, whether I can have a shot at another slam or, you know, any big tournaments. And also enjoy the support and the love that I'm getting really last couple of years has been amazing. Anywhere I go and I really, you know, enjoy that feeling. And there are other reasons and motivations that I have to still keep on playing, but yeah, there's internal discussion happening as well. For me, but I try to focus my thoughts and my attention to this very present moment and what needs to be done. So I'm still competing and I might get a little bit more philosophical again when I finish the tournament, but I'll try to focus on next challenge here.

I was pleasantly surprised with Norrie's level: Djokovic

Talking about his performance in the match, Djokovic was pleased with how things went on the court. Djokovic was extremely impressed with the performance of his rival Norrie, who according to him ‘surprised’ him with his performance in the match. Djokovic also stated that playing in matches like these and winning them gives hopes of getting the better of even some of the best players in the world.

“Playing was good, I mean, particularly third and fourth,” said Djokovic. “I kind of started swinging through the ball a bit more. Serving performance, definitely the best so far. It is always that this kind of matches and performances always give me hope that I can go far, challenge the best players in the world. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised with Norrie's level. I think he was playing really aggressive. I'm not used to playing him. You know, him playing so close to the line and just really taking the ball early, particularly on the fourth. And so, you know, credit to him for fighting and playing some really good level, particularly in the second set and beginning of third. But I guess when it mattered, I came up with some really good points, good shots, good serves.”

After he departed from Wimbledon, Djokovic admitted how his body struggles to cope with playing in a competition where matches could last as long as five sets. Talking about how his body was feeling in the match, Djokovic stated that it is ‘frustrating’ for him to not feel like the way he used to for 20 or more years. Djokovic also admitted that his biggest challenge right now is ‘managing’ his body to go as far as possible in the competition.

“In terms of how I'm feeling, it really goes up and down, to be honest,” said Djokovic. “It's frustrating for me, honestly, that I'm not able to feel 100% always like I have for 20-plus years. But yeah, I guess the circumstances are quite different. And I have to get used to the fact that every match, there's something that might happen, as it has been the case this year, pretty much every slam. So I'm just trying to do my best, manage the days when I don't have a match, probably skip tennis training tomorrow and just focus on recovery. Because that's, I think, for me and my team overall, the priority at the moment. I'm feeling the ball all right. Can I play better? Yes, always. But I'm happy with the amount of hours that I spend on the court playing matches in the first three rounds. So I feel like it's more about just managing the body and getting it as fit as possible for next one.”