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Reuters

Associated Press

Novak Djokovic has acknowledged the generational shift in tennis that has brought a new crop of players into the limelight but the 24-time grand slam champion said on Thursday he had no intention of quietly fading into the background.
The 37-year-old won three out of the four major titles in 2023 but has not been able to reproduce that kind of form since, being shut out of the game’s biggest tournaments last year as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz took two apiece.
With the retirements of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray – who is now his coach – Djokovic is the last member of the “Big Four” still standing and the Serb said he wanted to continue giving to the sport.
“The last 20 years were dominated mostly by the four of us and when three of my biggest rivals retired you can feel there’s a shift,” Djokovic said at the Madrid Open, where he will face Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the second round tomorrow.
“Not only in terms of the generations of players [who now have] the main focus and attention on them, but it takes a bit of time for people to accept the fact that Roger and Rafa are not playing, and Murray, and one day myself.

“But I’m still trying to stay and represent the older guys, the older generation. Hopefully that brings the positive effect to the tournaments and to the tour itself,” he added.
“That’s also one of the reasons why I keep on playing – because I feel like it also helps tennis still thrive on the attention, and crowd coming in and watching tournaments and getting interested.”
Djokovic, who is eyeing his 100th tour-level title before the French Open starts on May 25, said no player would ever be bigger than tennis.
“The sport should outlive everyone, the sport will outlive everyone, and it’s more important than anybody individually,” he said.
“We’re all here in the service of the sport.”
Djokovic noted that he was older than some of the current youngsters – such as 21-year-old Spanish star Alcaraz – when he began dominating on tour.
“Between, let’s say, 23 and 33 is when it was really happening. And Carlos is still not 23,” Djokovic said. “We have to remember that his age and what he has done for his age is not also normal. I’m sure that we’ll see a lot of him on the big stage with trophies in the future in, whatever, 10 years, 15 years, as long as he’s playing.”
Alcaraz withdrew from his home tournament because of muscle injuries. He had been in the same half of the draw as Djokovic.

Djokovic, a three-time champion in Madrid, has not played in the Spanish capital since losing to Alcaraz in the 2022 semi-finals.
Djokovic is seeking his first title of the season after losing in his opening matches both in Monte Carlo and Indian Wells. He reached the final in Miami, losing in straight sets to Jakub Mensik.
Djokovic won his 99th title last August at the Paris Olympics. He has lost four finals since then. The only two players to reach the 100-title milestone were Jimmy Connors (109) and Federer (103).


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Madrid Open: Novak Djokovic playing for the ‘older guys’ as new generation takes over

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Sport

Tennis

The 37-year-old, the last member of the sport’s ‘Big Four’ still standing, says he is carrying on to bring a ‘positive effect’ to the tour


The 37-year-old, the last member of the sport’s ‘Big Four’ still standing, says he is carrying on to bring a ‘positive effect’ to the tour.


Novak Djokovic

Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal

Madrid Open: Novak Djokovic playing for the ‘older guys’ as new generation takes over

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The 37-year-old, the last member of the sport’s ‘Big Four’ still standing, says he is carrying on to bring a ‘positive effect’ to the tour

The 37-year-old, the last member of the sport’s ‘Big Four’ still standing, says he is carrying on to bring a ‘positive effect’ to the tour