"It's gotta be very tough to win more Majors" - Patrick McEnroe gives prediction on when Novak Djokovic will retire

Tuesday, 29 October 2024 at 04:30

Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic failed to win a Grand Slam during the 2024 season, and former American player Patrick McEnroe believes this may be the beginning of the road to the Serbian's retirement.

Although Djokovic is yet to capture an ATP title this season, the former World No.1 won the Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympics this summer. Additionally, Djokovic has hinted he would be shifting his focus from ATP titles to Grand Slams, as he tries to add to his already impressive list of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

Talk of Djokovic's retirement is on the rise

With Djokovic's long-time rival Rafael Nadal set to retire at the 2024 Davis Cup in Malaga in November, there has been speculation on when Djokovic will hang up his racket. Former US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe gave his thoughts on the matter, stating the Serbian still has a chance to win more Majors before eventually retiring.

"I think this will be his last year," said McEnroe on an appearance on The Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast. "It's gotta be very tough to win more Majors. If the Australian Open starts tomorrow, he is the third favorite. That's pretty solid. Rafa [Nadal] would have come back. Rafa wanted to play more and so did [Roger] Federer. They certainly didn't think they had to win but they wanted to [play]. I think Novak would be the same.
"He is obviously still in the mix in a big way. There's no doubt he can win the Australian Open. He won the Olympics on clay, which was amazing. Yes, he can win 1 or 2 more...Wimbledon obviously. There's still not that many great grass court players."

Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.

With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.

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