Novak Djokovic admitted he was jaded after he slumped to a shock exit at the US Open, yet speculation that he may be considering his future in tennis appears to be wide of the mark.
Djokovic conceded that he “played some of the worst tennis I have ever played” after he lost 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 against Alexei Popyrin in the third round of the US Open.
Defeat for Djokovic means it is the first time since 2017 that he has not won a Grand Slam title and is his earliest exit at a major since the Australian Open that year.
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It extends the Serbian’s wait for a record-breaking 25th grand slam title and, at 37, his domination may be coming to an end.
Djokovic was scathing of his performance, saying: “He definitely played better and deserved to win. The way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round was a success.
“I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly, serving by far the worst ever.
“If you play on a quick surface like this without the serve, without the ability to win free points there, very low first-serve percentage, many double faults, then you can’t win.
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“You can’t win, especially against the guys who are in form like Alexei who is serving big, puts a lot of pressure on your service game. It was just an awful match for me.”
With an Olympic gold medal now ticked off his list of targets at the back end of his career, finding the motivation for what comes next was always likely to be an issue for Djokovic.
Yet he has answered one big question over his short-term future by confirming he will play in Serbia’s Davis Cup World Group I match against Greece next week.
Djokovic relishes any opportunity to play in front of Serbian fans and with this tie taking place at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, he has committed to play.
His early exit from the US Open made his participation in the tie more likely, with the presence of the 24-time Grand Slam king a huge boost for Serbia captain Viktor Troicki.
While winning a 25th Grand Slam and moving clear of Margaret Court in the all-time list of major winners may be Djokovic’s final big target in tennis, he might view a Davis Cup victory as the perfect way to sign off.
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He guided Serbia to Davis Cup glory in 2010 amid memorable scenes in Belgrade and while winning the competition for a second time would not have an impact on his tennis legacy, he may view it as a final goal.
The pain of losing against Jannik Sinner in last year’s Davis Cup semi-final against Italy after he held match points in their match staged in Malaga was a painful loss.
So he would relish the chance to put that right by winning the Davis Cup for Serbia and they need to beat Greece to get back into the elite group of the competition once again.
If they win this tie against Greece, Serbia would need to win a Qualifier next February and come through a group phase next September to qualify for the Finals in Malaga.
“Everything about winning the Olympic gold medal was special, but most of all it is my country,” said Djokovic after his gold medal win in Paris last month.
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“It’s my pride to play for Serbia. I know Carlos (Alcaraz) and Rafa (Nadal), they love to play for Spain. Andy (Murray) loved to play for Great Britain. Roger (Federer) for Switzerland. Alex Zverev won in Tokyo for Germany.
“You saw the reactions of all these guys when they win. It’s something special.”
Djokovic said the Davis Cup was ‘one of my biggest goals’ in 2023 and maybe now he is eyeing up a final hurrah on the tennis court with his Serbian team-mates in Malaga next year.