Novak Djokovic puts it out in the open on when he will retire as the 36-year-old aims to finish his 8th season as the World No. 1

Novak Djokovic starts his Paris Masters 2023 campaign on 1st November from the round of 32.

Novak Djokovic puts it out in the open on when he will retire as the 36-year-old aims to finish his 8th season as the World No. 1

Novak Djokovic (Source: Tennis365)

Novak Djokovic made a big statement in his recent Paris Masters press conference, where he revealed his potential date of retirement. The Serb has been up and running at the age of 36 and has so far retired anytime soon. This is the first time that he has clearly stated how he sees retirement and cleared all confusion among the curious netizens. 

You know, there is obviously differences with different tennis players in the past that, you know, some of them think that it's best to leave tennis when you're at the top. Some of them think when you figure out you can't win the biggest tournaments anymore and that you're losing to the young guys, then you leave it. I'm more in the second group. 
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The Serb made it clear that he will not retire as long as he keeps on contending and winning Grand Slam titles. 

As long as I'm, you know, main contender for the Grand Slams and still, you know, win the biggest tournaments in sport, I will not leave. I mean, unless mentally something happens and I really have no motivation anymore, but that's not the case for now. 

Even at the age of 36, Djokovic managed to three of the four Grand Slam titles this year and was the runner-up in the only other Grand Slam. Had it not been for Carlos Alcaraz’s sensational performance in the Wimbledon Open final, Djokovic would have had a perfect record in Grand Slam Majors this season, winning all four of them. This shows that the Serb is here to stay. 

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Novak Djokovic most likely to remain the year-end World No. 1 

When Djokovic announced that he would be opting out of the Asian Swing, i.e, the China Open and the Zhengzhou Open, fans wondered how it would affect the rankings. Luckily for the Serb, Carlos Alcaraz, the current World No. 2, failed to perform well in both tournaments and it did not hamper the points difference between the two players much. 

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Source: ATP Tour)

As a result, there is now a points difference of 2420 between the two players, and only a few tournaments are left in the year 2023. For Alcaraz to become the World No. 1 now, he would have to win all the tournaments, and the Serb will have to perform terribly. Thus, it can almost be considered that Novak Djokovic will remain the top-ranked player at the end of 2023. 

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