"I still feel the desire to play" - Novak Djokovic on being less motivated following the retirement of rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

With two of his greatest rivals now retired, Novak Djokovic remains the last standing member of the Big Three. This has led the Serbian superstar to admit he may not be as eager to take to the court as he used to be in the past.

Both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal hung up their rackets in 2022 and 2024 respectively. However, Djokovic has shown little sign of the desire to retire, although the 24-Grand Slam champion has shifted his focus to winning more Major trophies.

Although the Serbian has failed to win a title in close to a year, he did achieve his elusive goal of winning a gold medal at last year's Olympic Games. The 38-year old has had subpar results this season, with his best performance coming in Miami where he finished runner-up.

Djokovic is competing at the Madrid Open, which kicks off this week. In an interview with Eurosport Spain, the former World No.1 admitted to not being as motivated now that his two biggest foes in Federer and Nadal had retired.

"Maybe so, but if I'm not motivated, I'm not here," said Djokovic. "I don't play anymore. I put the racquet to rest. I still feel the desire to play, the passion to compete is always there. I hope to push harder. The Grand Slams are tournaments where I have more motivation to do well.
"I'm always optimistic, but I don't know if I'm one of the favorites because I'm not having very good results this year. The level I'm looking for could come here or at Roland-Garros, I hope it will be here.

"I always have very good feelings when I return to Madrid, to Spain. It's a country I love very much. I've won the Madrid Open three times in my career, with extraordinary matches against Nadal and [Carlos] Alcaraz.
"I've played little here in the last six to seven years, but I missed the Spanish public, because they know the sport well and respect tennis a lot. I have a good feeling and I hope to have a good tournament."