"That is probably the biggest reason": Novak Djokovic reveals reason behind still playing tennis despite recent struggles

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has revealed the reason behind the decision to play tennis despite struggling in the recent past. The 37-year-old is regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic is going through a bit of a lean patch, according to his own high standards. The former world number one has not won a single Grand Slam or an ATP event since the start of 2024. His only triumph since then was winning an Olympic gold medal in Paris in the singles category, where he defeated Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 7-6.

This year, Djokovic has featured in three competitions; in two of them, he was knocked out in the first round. At the Qatar Open, he lost to Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-2. At the Indian Wells, the former world number lost to Botic van de Zandschulp with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in the round of 64.

Djokovic is now set to feature in the ongoing Miami Open, where he will play his first game against Australia’s Rinky Hijikata in the round of 64 on Friday. Talking ahead of his encounter, the Belgrade-born star revealed the reason behind the decision to continue playing tennis despite struggling in the recent past. Djokovic was of the opinion that he has not been able to play his best tennis in a while but believes that he still has the ability to compete for major titles.

“I am in pursuit to find that desired level of tennis,” he said. “I haven’t played my best or even close to my best in Indian Wells or Doha, after I retired in my semi-finals in Australia. I haven’t been able to find that quality of tennis which I have been looking for. I have been working hard and giving it my all on the practice court and eventually it is going to come. I know that. Hopefully here. I played great in Australia and thought I had a pretty good shot at the title in Melbourne. It was unfortunate that it ended for me the way it ended but nevertheless it is still encouraging for me to experience that I was able to play the way I was playing in Australia, so still able to win against the likes of Alcaraz. That is probably the biggest reason why I still keep pushing myself and motivating myself because I know I still have it in my legs, hands and arms, I still have that tennis level that can put me in a good position to win the biggest titles in the sport.”