Djokovic: My dad has been trying to get me to retire for a while
Novak Djokovic revealed that he's been facing pressure from his father to call it quits.
The 37-year-old Serbian opened up about his future in an interview with GQ's Daniel Riley, explaining how his dad, Srdjan Djokovic, has advised him to start thinking about life after tennis.
"I don't know if he's going to be happy with me to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway. It starts with my dad. My dad is trying to retire me for a while now," Djokovic said. "No, honestly! But he hasn't been pushy. He respects my decision to keep going. And of course he understands why I want to keep going, but he's like, 'What else do you want to do?'
"He understands the amount and the intensity of the pressure and tension that is out there, and the stress that has an effect on my health, my body, and then, consequently, on everyone else who is around me, including him. So that's why he was like, 'My son, start to think about how you want to end this.'"
Djokovic won his first Olympic gold medal this past summer at the Paris Games, becoming just the fifth player to complete the career Grand Slam.
The former World No. 1 is now looking to make history at the 2025 Australian Open by winning a record 25th Grand Slam title. He'll face 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy in the opening round.
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