Novak Djokovic: “I Don’t Have Any Obligations to Play Tennis”

Novak Djokovic successfully defended his Wimbledon Championships title after digging the deepest of holes in the championship match against Roger Federer on Sunday.

In the post-match interview, Novak Djokovic talked about balancing out things with being a tennis player, a father and a husband. He also suggested that he does not have any obligations to play tennis but he plays tennis because he “loves tennis and has the support of the closest people in his life.”

Djokovic conquered his 16th major title after defeating the Swiss in an epic five-setter final. With this victory, the Serbian narrows down his gap with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in terms of grand slam tally. He is just two behind Rafael Nadal’s 18 majors and four behind Roger Federer.

However, the 32-year-old suggested that he doesn’t know if he could go past the grand slam tally of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Djokovic feels that winning more slams than Nadal and Federer depends on how long he will continue to play the sport as he has responsibilities as a father and as a husband which is beyond tennis.

He said about chasing Nadal’s and Federer’s grand slam tally, “It just depends how long I’m going to play, whether I’m going to have a chance to make historic No. 1 or slams.”

The world no. 1 continued to explain that there are different circumstances in different points in life and it requires the right circumstances at the right time to play at the top level.

He further added, “It depends not only on myself, but it also depends on circumstances in life. I’m not just a tennis player, I’m a father and a husband. You have to balance things out. Obviously, you need to have the right circumstances, the right support for things to play out in the right way.”

He also revealed that the support if the closest people in his life thrives him to play more tennis. Talking about playing at the age of 37, Djokovic said, “If things are well balanced and if I have the ability to keep on playing, if I of course firstly still enjoy it because I don’t have any obligation to play.”

He continued, “I really don’t have any commitment to play tennis. I play it because I really love it and I have the support of the closest people in my life. As long as that’s so, hopefully in five years’ time I can be hearing the same chants.”

Novak Djokovic is the father of 4-year-old Stefan Djokovic, who was present on Sunday to watch his father creating history on the Centre Court at SW19. The Serb has conquered nine grand slam titles since Stefan’s birth in October 2014.