Former doubles world No 1 Rennae Stubbs has cast doubt over how much longer Novak Djokovic will keep playing as she suggested Father Time has “caught up with” the tennis icon.
Djokovic sent a defiant message about his future in tennis while speaking with basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal and UFC chief Dana White at an event at the Joy Forum in Saudi Arabia ahead of the Six Kings Slam.
“Longevity is one of my biggest motivations and I really want to see how far I can go,” said the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
“You see across all the global sports, you know, LeBron James is still going strong. Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40. I want to keep going. I also want to live, I mean keep on playing professionally, to see the change that is coming for our sport and I’m super excited about it.”
Asked directly about retirement, Djokovic declared: “It’s not happening. I’m sorry to disappoint them. It’s just not happening.”
Djokovic fell to a shock straight-set loss to qualifier and eventual champion Valentin Vacherot in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters. The 38-year-old struggled physically in the match, which has been a common issue for him this season.
Speaking on an episode of the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, Stubbs expressed her concerns about Djokovic and claimed “there is no reason” for the Serbian to continue playing.
“He’s just breaking down all the time,” said the Australian, who won six Grand Slam doubles titles.
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“If there was a legit injury [against Vacherot], which I’m assuming it was in the first set… he looked pretty good in the second set. But the same thing keeps happening [in the] latter parts of tournaments for him.
“Novak just doesn’t look like he has enough on the ball anymore against some of these players. And I mean, look, he’s the greatest player of all time, he’s got all the records. But at some point, and I’ve spoken about it for months, actually maybe even a year or two, Father Time catches up with you.
“And it just looks like he doesn’t have quite enough on the ball. He’s not imposing himself enough. He’s not serving as great as he used to when he won a lot of these big tournaments and big matches.
“And at some point, it catches up with you, and you just wonder, how long is he going to do this for?
“I hope I am wrong. I want him to keep playing. But I just feel like, is he going to want to keep just grinding until the French and Wimbledon again? That’s nine months away essentially.
“So is he going to grind and play Indian Wells and Miami and Monte Carlo and all these tournaments again just to get to the French?
“He’s not trying to win another Masters 1000 or a 500, he has got all the records, there is no reason for him to play anymore. I just think mentally it’s such a grind.”
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