Novak Djokovic has expressed his desire to return to Wimbledon following his semi-final exit for the second consecutive year. The Serbian legend endured what he described as a "blowout" against world No.1 Jannik Sinner, falling 6-4 6-4 6-4 in a repeat of last year's one-sided semi-final clash.
Djokovic, a seven-time champion at the All England Club, will be 40 years old when Wimbledon returns in 2027. However, he remains keen to compete once more on the prestigious grass courts, stating: "I would like to at least one more time, let's see."
Djokovic admits he was outplayed
The No.7 seed also acknowledged there was little more he could have done in his attempt to overcome Sinner and secure an 11th Wimbledon final appearance.
"No, not really. Was a good old blowout. Nothing much I could do," he said with a wry smile. "I mean, I was just half-a-step late basically in any shot, so... It's very simple as that. He was just a level or more better than I was. I was just, you know, yeah, not sharp enough, not reactive enough, not balanced enough to play him. That's it. There's not much I could do on the court."
Djokovic also admitted he found no way to break down the Sinner serve. This was clear, as he managed just one break point in the third set, nearly two hours into the contest, and failed to convert it.
Analysis of Sinner's dominance
"Attack? You cannot attack his first serve. You can try to read it, chip it, block it, get it back in play," he explained. "Very unpredictable serve, great variety, great balance, great pop. He's using his height extremely well. Also second serve very deep in the box. A lot of rotation. He can go for speed. He doesn't make many double-faults. He's just super solid. He backs it up with first aggressive shot. If you play a shorter return, you're, again, on your back foot. It's really, really tough to play him, particularly when he serves."
Four years have now elapsed since Djokovic's last Wimbledon victory, and nearly three years since his most recent Grand Slam crown. The 39-year-old continues to hold himself to the loftiest standards; despite knowing he has nothing left to prove, he persists because he wishes to.
Internal battle over expectations
When asked whether he remained fixated on silverware or could derive satisfaction from a run such as this, Djokovic responded: "Last year I reached four semi-finals. This year, out of three slams, I reached one final and one semi-final. I guess for 99% of the players, that would be a very good Grand Slam result. For me, it's good but not good enough, because I'm blessed and cursed to be used to something of a highest degree in terms of results and achievements."
"Yeah, I mean, that's a good question, because in some way, I'm also dealing with myself in a sense that I'm telling myself, 'Look, this is amazing that you're still able to, as people around me are telling me, able to play at such a high level and push the youngsters to the limit for Grand Slam titles,' which is true. But at the same time, I always have the highest expectations for myself."
"So yeah, it's kind of that internal battle, really, of what I've been through for the 20-plus years of my career, what the goals were always, the expectations, and trying to balance it out and really be a little more humble in that sense."
Future remains uncertain but positive
"Of course, I still enjoy the thrill of competition. Maybe I don't enjoy all the hard weeks that are leading up to big tournament, putting myself over and over again through a lot of pain, physically mostly. I'm glad that this tournament, the body held pretty well. Pretty much every other tournament in the last two years it was always something."
"That's the main thing. I feel when I'm healthy, I'm still able to play as a top-five player, still able to compete at the highest level. I like it. I like this life. I mean, tennis has given me everything in my life and has allowed me an opportunity to become who I am."
"At the same time, you know, of course there's always a question how far you want to go, what you want to play, how you want to play, et cetera, et cetera. I go through that process, but I try to take it, in a sense, a day at a time, see how I really feel. I don't have any pressure or no one is forcing me to play. I do it because I really want to and because I still can. I still can play as a top-10, top-5 player. Yeah, let's see what the future brings."
