Novak Djokovic: Former coach says Djoko will play another ‘year or two’

Doesn’t it feel like we are just waiting for Novak Djokovic to retire? There is almost a boxing culture to tennis currently. The all-time champ, Djokovic, has been stripped of his title by a young giant, Carlos Alcaraz. Therefore, Djokovic must retire, right? Wait…no.

Just because the Serbian was beaten at Wimbledon by Alcaraz does not mean that he will lose to Alcaraz again or never win another title. That is an absurd reaction to a very recent event. Prior to his Wimbledon loss, Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open. Plus, Djoko won the Australian Open before that.

Heck, if Djoko wins the US Open, which he could easily do, then that would be his third major of 2023. Still, there would be many who say Alcaraz is much better right now. Maybe the Spaniard is, but the point is that Djoko is still at least clearly the best ATP player on the planet currently. Why should he retire when he is still playing so well?

Is Novak Djokovic near retirement? Let’s hope not.

According to fellow Serbian Radmilo Armenulic, who is himself a former player and coach, and mentor to current Djokovic coach Goran Ivanisevic, Djokovic might still play for another year or two. Is Djoko physically capable of doing that? Um, hello? Yes.

All this discussion of when Djokovic will retire simply needs to go away. Why would we want him to go away from a game that could have many potential matchups of Djoko versus Alcaraz? That’s maybe the best the sport has ever offered. You don’t like sequels?

We could even see a sequel at the Western and Southern Open. Alcaraz is the one seed and Djoko is the two. If both players play well, no one will beat them until they reach the final. And if one player were to lose early then that player would likely be Alcaraz and not Djoko.

Simply put, let’s hope Novak Djokovic continues to play at an extremely high level for the foreseeable future, and let us hope Alcaraz does the same. 15 more finals that feature the two players wouldn’t even be enough.