Djokovic opens up on life after retirements of Federer, Nadal and Murray: ‘Part of me left with them’

Novak Djokovic is the last of tennis’ ‘Big Four’ who’s still going strong, with the Serbian tennis superstar currently chasing a record 25th Grand Slam at the US Open, where he moved into the second round with a straight-sets victory over American Learner Tien.

The legendary Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray complete the quartet along with ‘Djoker’, with Nadal and Federer currently second and third in the list of most Grand Slam among male players, with 22 and 20 respectively. Murray, meanwhile, deserves to be in the group for appearing in a Grand Slam final nine times and emerging triumphant on three occasions besides winning 46 ATP Tour titles and staying No 1 for 41 weeks.

Federer was the first out of the four to hang up his boots, bidding the sport an emotional goodbye in 2022, with Nadal and Murray riding into the sunset in 2024. The spotlight, thus, has fallen on Djokovic and his quest for a 25th Grand Slam, which will make him the player – male or female – with the most Grand Slam titles in the history of the sport.

‘I’m trying to embrace this journey’

Djokovic, however, has revealed the transition following the retirement of his peers, with the veteran currently facing intense competition from breakout stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, has not been easy for him.

“When Federer and Nadal and Murray, my biggest rivals, retired actually most recently in the in the last year or two, part of me left with them and I and I really feel that because and I thought it’s not going to be difficult for me to kind of shift my attention in terms of who are my principal rivals on the tour from them to someone else,” Djokovic said on the Jay Shetty Podcast.

“But, you know, it is it is tough because I’m used to these names, these guys, these faces for 20 years and then new faces come in and it’s normal, how can I say evolution of our sport and it’s normal that you have new generations that are kind of come in and dominate the tour.

“I’m experiencing something I have never experienced before, but that’s that’s also fine, I’m trying to embrace this journey,” added Djokovic, who has spent a record total of 428 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings.

Djokovic willing to mentor current stars, hopes to see his records get broken

Djokovic added that he is more than willing to guide Alcaraz, Sinner and the rest of the current generation of stars who will be dominating headlines in the years to come.

“But also I think what is very important to me personally and what I have expressed directly to all of my rivals currently today, the young guys who are going to be the carriers of the tennis for the next decade is that I’m here for them to share my experience even though it’s difficult because we’re facing each other.

“But I still feel that in a way that’s also my role. It’s also my responsibility and it’s also a great opportunity for me to do that because it really fills my heart with joy that I’m able to convey my experiences, my knowledge, whatever that I can from my journey to a new generation,” he added.

And as competitive a player he is on court, Djokovic is willing to share tips with his juniors, even if they inspire them to break his records in the future.

“Naturally, the tennis should get better and we all want tennis to get better to be better and I want somebody to break my record in the future or all of the records. Why not? I mean this is how it should be,” he added.

Following his 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory over Tien in the first round on Monday, Djokovic faces another American, Zachary Svajda, in the US Open. He faces the possibility of meeting Alcaraz, who had won the tournament in 2022, in the semi-finals, and could face defending champion Sinner in the grand finale if everything goes as per plan for him.