Novak Djokovic insists he still has the passion and motivation to keep playing on the Tour despite the lack of trophy wins in recent months.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion missed out on claiming his 100th ATP title on Sunday after losing in straight sets to world No.1 Jannik Sinner at the Shanghai Masters. Djokovic, who is one of the most decorated tennis players in history, has only won one tournament this year which was the Olympic Tennis event in Paris. However, he has reached the semi-finals or better in six out of his last 10 tournaments and was runner-up at Wimbledon.
“Compared to most of my seasons throughout my career this has been one of the worst-performing seasons in terms of results,” Djokovic admitted to reporters in Shanghai. “But it was going to come at some point where I wouldn’t win slams and maintain that highest level for so many years in a row.”
Whilst it has been a far from disastrous year, it is not up to the Serbian’s usual standard. The last time he ended a season without winning multiple titles was nearly 20 years ago in 2005 when his single triumph was at a Challenger event. Nevertheless, Djokovic currently has no plans to follow in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal and enter retirement.
“My main motivation comes from love and passion for the sport, and also the desire to keep competing.” He said.
“These are kind of the matches and challenges that I still strive for, to be in a position to play against the best players in the world, on the biggest stage, in the finals of some of the biggest tournaments in the world.
“That’s what I work for and why I still keep on pushing myself. I don’t know what the future brings, I’ll just try to kind ofgo with the flow to see how I feel at a given moment.
“I still plan to compete and play next season and let’s see how far I go.”
The 37-year-old states his goal is peaking at the four Grand Slam events. There are also new milestones he can achieve in his career such as becoming only the third player to win a 100th ATP title in the Open Era. Furthermore, should he win another hardcourt event, he will set a new record for most titles won on the surface at 72. He is currently tied with Roger Federer.
Djokovic will now head to Saudi Arabia to compete in the King Six Slam exhibition. He is yet to confirm his plans for the remainder of the season but is in contention of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin.
