Novak Djokovic backed to ‘play until 40’ unlike Nadal thanks to important trait

Mats Wilander has tipped Novak Djokovic to play until he’s 40 years old following Rafael Nadal’s recent retirement announcement. The Spaniard admitted that 2024 would likely be his final year on tour as he continues to battle injuries. But Wilander believes that being humble will allow Djokovic to go on for several years after his rival’s career draws to a close.

Djokovic recently admitted that Nadal’s announcement got him thinking about his own eventual retirement, even if he had no plans to end his career soon. But the world No 3 has now been told that he has what it takes to play until he’s 40 as he was also named the French Open favourite in Nadal’s absence.

“When you talk to Novak, he’s so humble these days,” the seven-time Major champion told Eurosport. “I actually think that is the main reason why he is able to keep going, because he does take it day by day.”

Looking ahead to the rest of his career just weeks after Djokovic celebrated his 36th birthday, Wilander added: “I think he can play until he’s 40 years old, he looks so young and is so fresh. He’s keen, he’s motivated – even in interviews with me.”

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The Swede also said Djokovic was his favourite to lift a third French Open title in Nadal’s absence despite many tipping world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who has performed better at the clay-court lead-up events. “I think if Alcaraz plays his best tennis, I think that it would be very difficult for anyone to beat him,” Wilander said.

Explaining what Djokovic could do to dismantle the top seed’s game, he added: “But you have to make him play worse, and I think Novak Djokovic is one of the few guys that can actually, somehow, make Alcaraz doubt himself, make Alcaraz come up with unforced errors which he doesn’t do against other players.

“He is going to get five matches before he runs into Alcaraz – that’s enough practice for Djokovic.” Wilander’s comments come as Djokovic admitted that his long-time rival’s recent announcements made him emotional.

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“That news came in a way as a shock to everybody, you know. People were asking me how I felt when he said that, you know, and I have to say that, you know, I was saying that always that he’s my biggest rival. When he announced that he’s going to have his last season of career, you know, I felt part of me is leaving with him too, if you know what I mean,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion explained.

“Maybe I’m not expressing myself well, but because of the rivalry that we had and that we still have, because he’s still active player, I feel that he was one of the most, I would say, impactful people that I have ever had in my career, the growth of my career, and me as a player. Definitely a great motivational factor for me to keep playing and keep competing and keep pushing each other, you know, who’s gonna achieve more, who’s gonna do better.”

And it made him reflect on his own career, as he added: “Yeah, it made me wonder, you know, it made me think about my career and how long I’m going to play. So far I’m not going to make any announcement today, but just reflecting on it, you know, I felt also a little bit emotional about what he was saying.”

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