Djokovic still competitive says Berdych amid retirement rumours

Former Czech Republic player Tomas Berdych believes that Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic is still playing at the highest level because he thinks that he can still compete. The 37-year-old is regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic has gone through a mixed campaign in 2024. It was the first time in seven years that the Belgrade-born star failed to win a single Grand Slam. However, Djokovic will remember 2024 for all the right reasons after completing his trophy cabinet. He finally managed to win an Olympic gold medal in Paris after beating Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the singles category in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 7-6.

Since securing that triumph, there have been rumours about when Djokovic will retire from professional tennis. Those rumours intensified after the retirement of his two rivals — Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Britain’s Andy Murray. Former world number four Berdych has been recently quoted in a report by The Tennis Gazette, in which he expressed his opinion about Djokovic’s decision to continue playing. The 39-year-old believed that the former world number one has decided to continue playing because he feels he can still compete at the highest level. Berdych also believes that one thing that is keeping Djokovic motivated is to become the first player in the history of tennis to win 25 Grand Slam titles.

“Of course, it is sad to see the guys having to stop their careers, but you know it’s going to happen, and it’s impossible for them to play forever,” he said. “But when you look at their achievements, I totally get why they were trying to really push it because you never know what might happen. Maybe Roger [Federer] would add one more slam, or Rafa [Nadal] would add one more. It would be history [if he wins the 25th Grand Slam, which is why I think Novak is still playing. If he feels well and then if he manages to win another one, it’s the biggest thing that can happen. When you gave it all for the last, I don’t know, 20, 25 years, why would you stop when you feel that you are still competitive?”