“From being untouchable, he started to lose against Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. And now, he admits: “my body is not strong enough to fight those two guys in five-set Grand Slams.” Patrick Mouratoglou – Serena Williams’ former trainer – summed up 24-time slam king Novak Djokovic’s situation aptly when it comes to his fading impact. His failure to do it thrice this season (in slam semifinals) proves it. However, Djokovic, at 38, is still determined that he can make it happen as long as he is there on the court.

The 2025 Netflix Six Kings Slam this week saw yet another instance of Djokovic struggling against Sinner, for the third time this season. On Thursday, the four-time major champion took 62 minutes, with a brutal scoreline of 6-4, 6-2, to dismiss the Serbian. After the forgettable encounter, Djokovic didn’t mince words in sharing his honest feelings of wanting someone “to trade a younger body with me. Just for a year so I can try to win against these guys. Excuse my language, but it’s never nice when someone kicks your a– like this on the court.”

But he isn’t ready to give up. “I still have the drive.” While he acknowledges that “it’s becoming much more difficult for me to get a win against Jannik and Carlos. I’m gonna keep on challenging them until it happens.” If you’re one to assume that he’d throw in the towel, “It’s not happening, sorry,” he said during a conference in Riyadh.

Djokovic is not going anywhere, and he will stick around for his 25th slam and until he manages to beat the Italian and the Spaniard. For the uninitiated, he has faced Sinner three times now in 2025 while losing each time. The former World No.2 beat him in Paris and then in London during the semis and now in Riyadh.

Back in January, Djokovic managed a win against Alcaraz. He survived him at the Australian Open during the quarterfinal stage. However, the six-time slam winning Spaniard took his revenge last month. At the US Open, he dominated the Serbian in the semifinal encounter, snatching victory in straight sets. Despite back-to-back setbacks against these two, Djokovic wants to keep going without considering retirement anytime soon.

Novak Djokovic wants to keep swinging the racket past 40

Yes, he is 38 and soon he will turn 40, but Novak Djokovic believes age is just a number. Speaking at a conference in Riyadh, he made his intentions clear regarding the future. And taking retirement is definitely not on the checklist. “Longevity is one of my biggest motivations.”

Giving examples of icons from other sports, he said, “I really want to see how far I can go. If you see across all the global sports, Lebron James he is still going strong, he is 40, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40-something years old, it is unbelievable.” He added, “They are inspiring me.” reported BBC on October 16.

In his career, Djokovic has achieved literally everything. 100 ATP titles, extended domination in the ATP landscape as World No.1 for a long period, and 24 Grand Slams. Still, he is looking to clinch one more to add to his cabinet. Doing so will make him the first player (male or female) to capture 25 major trophies. So far, he has been unsuccessful – but he wants to keep trying.

“In the next couple of years, tennis is a sport that can be greatly transformed, and I want to be part of that change.” For him, he just wants to “be playing when we rejuvenate our sport and set the new platform that is going to go on for decades to come.”