Novak Djokovic is still going strong now into his 23rd year as a professional tennis player, seeing as he turned pro in 2003, and is now the only remaining player of the “Big Three”. His longevity is unmatched in the tennis world, having won 12 Grand Slams after turning 30 compared to Nadal’s 8 and Federer’s 4. In 2021 and 2023, aged 34 and 36 respectively, he won 3 out of 4 possible Grand Slams. In 2021, he missed out on the US Open in the final when he was defeated in straight sets by Daniil Medvedev, and in 2023, he lost the Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz in a 5-set thriller. Djokovic is the oldest world number one and the oldest year-end number one.
Reasons for his longevity
After struggling physically early on in his career and having to retire from very important matches, Novak Djokovic changed his diet. He eliminated gluten from his diet and seeing as saving energy is essential for athletes, he started eating plant-based foods, which require less energy to be digested than animal products. Since turning 30, he has only had to retire from three Grand Slam matches across the span of seven years, his latest being in this year’s Australian Open, compared to the four times he was forced to retire before turning 22. Djokovic’s mental toughness is also one of his greatest assets, having won 9 titles by saving match points throughout the tournaments, the most famous ones being the two match points saved in the 2019 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer. Now that he’s competing against the new generation, his mental advantage and experience becomes even more obvious. Djokovic thrives under pressure and has never been one to back down from tough crowds or mind games from his opponents.
Evolving playing style
As Djokovic grows older, his physical abilities decline, and he now has to rely more on his technical prowess. His serve and net game have improved, seeing as he must save as much energy as possible. He moves more efficiently now and is arguably the tour’s best player from the baseline, only rivalled by Jannik Sinner. His positioning on the court has also improved massively, which helps him to be able to endure long matches.
The future
How long will Djokovic keep going? Having seen him play over the last years, it’s clear that he can still compete for the biggest titles. The biggest factors that may hinder him from doing so, are injuries and, most importantly, his motivation to keep playing tennis. Last year he had to pull out of Roland Garros, having qualified for the Quarter-final, due to a knee injury, on which he then had to have surgery and caused a serious doubt on his Wimbledon participation. Eventually, he was able to compete in Wimbledon while wearing a knee brace and even though he managed to reach the final, he was visibly limited and lost in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz. After Wimbledon, he was back in better form and won Olympic gold in Paris. He then went on to only play the US Open (lost in the third round) and the Shanghai Masters (reached the final) for the rest of the season. In this year’s Australian Open he had to pull out due to a muscle tear. Novak has been suffering more injuries than usual, but only time will tell if he has only had an unlucky injury-filled spell or if father time is finally catching up to him. Ultimately, if Djokovic wants and is able to stay healthy to a certain extent, he could keep being a top player on the tour past his fortieth birthday.
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