Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic opens up about the retirement pressure from father.
According to Tanjug, the 24-time Grand Slam winner revealed that so many people are writing his “tennis obituary,” but his father is the one who began it and wants him to retire from professional tennis.
In an extensive interview with GQ magazine, Djokovic, while talking about his retirement, expressed that he thinks more about “how” than “when” about leaving the sport.
The 37-year-old said, “I feel like people are writing my tennis obituary. The media, the fans... and I don’t know if he would like me to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway: the first one to do it is my father. My father has been trying to get me to retire for a while now, but he hasn't been insistent.”
“He respects my decision to continue and, of course, understands why I want to keep going, but he says, 'What more do you want to achieve?' He understands the amount and intensity of the pressure and tension out there and the stress it has on my health, on my body, and consequently, on everyone around me, including him. That’s why he said, 'My son, start thinking about how you want to end this,” he continued.
The Paris Olympic gold medallist also shared his future plans, saying that he will not play in the Davis Cup, and his participation in the Doha tournament is also “uncertain.”
For the unversed, Djokovic retired from mid-match in the Australian Open semifinals against Alexander Zverev due to the injury he sustained during the quarterfinals against Carlos Alcaraz.
