Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic plans to play for several more years. As he told the media in Australia, his aim will be to return to the forefront of the world rankings and gain more success.
Photo: Joly Victor/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia
Novak Djokovic is preparing for the new season.
The 37-year-old Serb did not have a very successful last season. He did not win a single Grand Slam and claimed only one title – the Olympic gold in Paris.
He slipped to seventh place in the world rankings. He said he wanted to get to where he was before.
“I need a good start to the season, I’m looking for more endurance in all tournaments. I want to play more tournaments this year than I did last season, so I hope my level will go up as well.”
The 24-time Grand Slam champion starts the season for the first time without an opponent from the so-called “big four” after the withdrawal this year of Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, and before that Roger Federer, who retired in 2022. “I hope to win a few more tournaments and my position will be where should have been.”
Djokovic wants to win his 11th Australian Open title and a record 25th Grand Slam crown next month. And that despite the fact that he will be 38 years old in May.
“I still think I can be strong in the years to come. But how long I will feel motivated to continue is unpredictable. But I still love the sport and I still like to compete.”
However, the former world number one also expressed frustration. And that’s because he didn’t have any information about the doping case of the first ATP ranking player Jannik Sinner. The 23-year-old Italian tested positive for the anabolic steroid klostebol in March during the tournament in Indian Wells.
He later explained it by saying that his physiotherapist applied the banned substance in a spray to a small wound on his hand and transferred it to his body during massages.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), based on the decision of its independent tribunal, took away the points and bonuses he received in Indian Wells for participating in the semifinals.
But since, according to her, the player was not to blame for violating anti-doping rules, nor was he negligent, he could continue to play and triumph, for example, at the US Open in September.
“I don’t want to deal with whether Sinner took a banned substance intentionally or not. But in the past we had many players who were suspended even though they didn’t even have positive tests for banned substances.
Some lower ranked players have been waiting more than a year for their case to be resolved. I was frustrated that we didn’t have information about this case for more than five months,” AP quoted Djokovic as saying.
Source: sportweb.pravda.sk
