World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will turn 37 on May 22 this year and may still stand at the top of the ATP Rankings! With 24 Grand Slam titles in his trophy cabinet, Djokovic is hungry to include more despite being at the twilight of his career, and this mentality of the Serb has impressed many, including former Australian player Paul McNamee.
The former doubles world No. 1 lauded Djokovic’s mental resilience in his recent tweet. He recalled the time when Djokovic (who is still unvaccinated) was deported from Australia in 2022 when its government canceled his visa, not allowing him to compete at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic, Paul McNamee (Images via X, Wikipedia)
Djokovic was ready to miss Grand Slam tournaments instead of taking injections, and as a consequence, he missed the 2022 US Open, as the government there had also made the vaccines mandatory.
Then in 2023, despite going through everything, he made a terrific comeback and went on to clinch the Australian Open, French Open, and US Open, reaching the Wimbledon final, and becoming the No. 1 player once again. McNamee claimed that if another player went through such a phase, he wouldn’t have recovered from it.
After all Novak Djokovic has been through, including in my country, which would have broken many athletes, let’s give credit where credit is due… being #1 turning 37 years of age is a remarkable achievement.Paul McNamee wrote on X
Novak Djokovic is aiming for Olympic gold in Paris
The only accolade that Novak Djokovic has not earned is the Olympic gold medal, though he won the bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Recently, during the Laureus World Sports Awards, where he won the Sportsman of the Year for the fifth time, the 24-time Grand Slam champion talked about his goal in 2024.
At the end of the day, who knows if I will get another chance to play at the Olympic Games? They only come every four years? I said recently that I really wanted to play at least until the L.A. Olympic Games [in 2028], but you never know, at this stage.Novak Djokovic said
Djokovic has not competed since he lost to Casper Ruud in the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals this year. After opting out of the Barcelona Open and Madrid Open, Djokovic has not spoken about when he will return to the court. Though he may return for the Rome Open, no one can doubt his playing at the upcoming French Open, starting May 20.
