John McEnroe Reveals Whether Novak Djokovic Will Retire from Tennis if He Wins Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic is into the third round of the Wimbledon Championships after beating Brit, Dan Evans in straight sets.

John McEnroe Reveals Whether Novak Djokovic Will Retire from Tennis if He Wins Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic, John McEnroe (Images via ATP/X)

Novak Djokovic is looking to claim his 25th Grand Slam title at the Wimbledon Championship, which will make him the player with the highest number of major titles in the Open Era. However, the former World No.1 is 38 and might be nearing retirement. Tennis legend John McEnroe has predicted whether he will hang up his racket if he wins the All England Club title.

Djokovic has not lifted a major title since claiming the 2023 US Open in New York. But, this season, he has shown determination and consistency in Grand Slam tournaments. He got to the semi-finals of the Australian Open before being forced to retire due to an injury against World No.3 Alexander Zverev.

The 24-time Grand Slam then reached the semi-finals of the French Open after beating Zverev in the last eight before losing to Jannik Sinner in straight sets. Nonetheless, before the Roland Garros, he claimed his 100th tour-level title at the Geneva Open after beating Hubert Hurkacz in the final.

At the All England Club, Djokovic has opened his campaign with an excellent performance. He defeated Alexandre Muller in the first round and then followed it up with an impressive 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 win over British star Dan Evans in the second round, which sealed his 99th victory at the Wimbledon Championship.

Ahead of his third-round tie, John McEnroe was asked on air on BBC Sports via Tennis365 if he thinks Djokovic will retire if he wins the Wimbledon Championship. The tennis legend revealed that Djokovic will only retire if he knows he cannot win again:

When he’s going to stop playing: the moment he thinks he can’t win one, I’m assuming. It’s hard with him, he’s broken pretty much every record, so if he broke it, I suppose that would be the perfect time to stop. But if he was still winning at that level? At worst he’s three in the world, right? So to me, it’d be pretty tempting to keep going. But you don’t want to get to that point where, god forbid it’s hard to even imagine, him getting beaten up by more than just a couple of people.

Djokovic has now won 11 of his last 12 matches on tour. His only loss came against Sinner at the French Open. He’s projected to face the Italian star again in the semi-finals of Wimbledon. He faced Sinner in 2022 and 2023, winning both encounters, but, of late he has found it hard to get over the World No.1.

Novak Djokovic impressed by his clinical third-round win at the Wimbledon Championship

Novak Djokovic put up a clinical performance to overcome Dan Evans in their second-round clash at Wimbledon. The Serb dropped only nine points on serve and hit 46 winners throughout the match. His trademark backhand slice outclassed Evans’ style of play in the one-hour and 47-minute victory.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Image via X/TNT Sports)

Djokovic revealed after beating Evans that he was very pleased with his performance and the win:

I’m very, very pleased with the performance. From the very first point of the get-go, I was really sharp. didn’t really want to give Dan a chance to come back to the match. I really tried to pressure him constantly from the back of the court. I think serving, I served very well and very accurately, opening up the court. Every shot today worked very well.

Djokovic has won the championship seven times in his career, the player with the second highest number of Wimbledon title, just after Roger Federer with eight to his name. He will now face Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round, where he will be seeking to claim his 100th SW19 win, while having an eye on his eighth Wimbledon title.

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