For Novak Djokovic, winning Wimbledon for an eighth time would be his record-extending 25th major. At age 38, the Serbian knows his singles tennis days are numbered. Djokovic touched on retirement earlier this month with the Grand Slam on grass looming and was asked again about the possibility of stepping away prior to his opening-round match in London next week.
Djokovic (+650) has the third-best odds to win behind French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz (+110) and Jannik Sinner (+190) according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
“Whether it could be my ‘last dance,’ I’m not sure … as I’m not sure about Roland Garros or any other Slam that I play next,” Djokovic said. “My wish is to play for several more years. I would love to be healthy physically and also mentally motivated to keep on playing at the highest level. That’s the goal. But you never know at this stage.”
Djokovic agrees if there was a chance to beat one of the young guns for No. 25, this opportunity is his best shot. His tournament begins Tuesday against Alexandre Muller.
“I would probably agree that Wimbledon could be the best chance, because of the results I had, because of how I feel, how I play in Wimbledon,” Djokovic said. “Just getting that extra push mentally and motivation to perform the best tennis at the highest level.”
Djokovic lost to Alcaraz in straight sets during last year’s Wimbledon final and last won the event in 2022.
“These tournaments give me the biggest drive, still,” Djokovic said. “I like the way I feel right now, physically. Tennis-wise, I’ve been playing good on the practice sessions. Obviously completely different when you start a tournament. I’ll try to have a very good tournament and go as far as I can.”
Djokovic has not won a major since capturing three in 2023 and dealt with a “muscular issue” for some time that tends to worsen the more he plays. He played a grass court warmup match Friday at Hurlingham Club in London, and reportedly made a number of backhand errors during a 7-6 (4), 6-4 loss to Karen Khachanov.
Djokovic has not played a match that counted since the semifinal loss to Sinner in the French Open. He showed fight against the world’s top-ranked player, but ran out of gas during his fourth-straight loss to the 23-year-old phenom.
“(It) was a straight-set loss, but I feel like I did give him a run for his money, so to say,” Djokovic said earlier this month at Roland-Garros. “I tried to make him work till the last shot. I did what I could. This is sport. You have to just shake the hand of the better player and move on.”
Djokovic, who’s 21-8 this year, is ranks No. 6 on the men’s tour.
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