Novak Djokovic Opens Up on the Impact of Competing at 39: “I’m Imprisoning Myself”

Novak Djokovic could be in the final months of his two-decade-old career. The Serbian legend has become one of the most revered players on tour, having achieved all that the sport can give, yet he’s still playing and demanding more. The 39-year-old has admitted that despite his passion for the sport, his aging body has become his prison.

Djokovic has been busy with a lot of media work in the past few days ahead of his documentary, Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter, which will be released next month. The former World No.1 has admitted that the documentary will show much of his intimate side of his country (Serbia) and what it is like to grow up there at a time of war.

Away from that, at 39, Djokovic is meant to enjoy his time away from tennis, reflecting on his achievements in the sport, having won 24 Grand Slams, the most major titles by a male player in the Open Era. He spent over 400 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings, making him the player with the most weeks at the top.

Last week, he broke Roger Federer’s record at Wimbledon, becoming the player with the most match wins (107) at the All England Club. He reached the semi-finals of the tournament after overcoming Felix Auger-Aliassime in a five-set thriller at the Center Court, but failed to replicate the same display against Jannik Sinner.

Djokovic won two titles last year, taking his total tour-level tally to 101 championships. Only Federer (103 titles) and Jimmy Connors (109 titles) have won more trophies than Djokovic on tour. During an interview on CBS Mornings, Djokovic admitted that competing at his age limits his passion for more Grand Slams each time he takes to the court:

Many times I feel like I’m imprisoning myself… To perform at your best, you literally have to transform every aspect of your life off the court to put it at the service of tennis. And that has consequences. I try to focus solely on playing great tennis. If I don’t think about my age, people remind me of it. And if people don’t remind me, my body does. I try to squeeze every last bit of performance out of it to keep competing at the highest level against younger players.

Djokovic was among the sporting greats who anchored the Fanatics Fest event in Manhattan, New York, ahead of the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday (July 19). The 24-time Grand Slam champion was also seen taking pictures with several football legends as he continues to perform media activities for his documentary.

Novak Djokovic gives the reason behind his loss to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon

There was a belief that Novak Djokovic had a chance to reach this year’s Wimbledon Championships final. Despite his age, he proved that he’s one of the best after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets after five hours and 15 minutes. The win ensured that Djokovic earned his place in the semi-finals against Jannik Sinner.

He had beaten Sinner at the Australian Open semi-finals in five sets and was looking forward to replicating the same performance. But that didn’t happen as Sinner defeated the Serbian legend in straight sets. During the aforementioned interview, Djokovic admitted that he couldn’t play his best against Sinner due to how much strength he exerted in the last eight:

After that match, I couldn’t fully recover for the semifinals. I wasn’t as fresh as I would have liked. That doesn’t take anything away from Sinner, who won the match and then the tournament, but things are different now.

Sinner went on to claim the Wimbledon title for the second consecutive year after beating Alexander Zverev in four sets. The Italian star has admitted that he hopes to return to the court from a short vacation at the Canadian Open, while Djokovic is only expected to play at the US Open next month.

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