At the twilight of his career, Novak Djokovic has now broken every record in the sport. But there was a time in his career when he was chasing those records, and while doing so, he was not sure he could break them. In a recent interview with GQ, the Serbian revealed that during that period he seriously considered walking away from the sport. 

“Let’s pick one, 2010, when I kind of wanted to leave tennis,” he said when asked to reflect on the biggest lessons of his career. “I didn’t know whether I had what it takes, and I wasn’t able to crack the top spot of the world. I was losing against Federer and Nadal, my two greatest rivals, most of the big matches we played each other in those years, and I was really stressed out about everything that was happening.”

Djokovic had already made a strong mark at the majors by claiming his first Grand Slam by winning the 2008 Australian Open, but the distance between him and the two dominant players in the field was still wide. Federer led their head-to-head 10-5 heading into that year’s US Open semifinal, having beaten Djokovic in three straight previous meetings at that very tournament while dropping barely a set. 

Nadal’s advantage was even more lopsided, having won 16 of their first 23 meetings dating back to 2006. Djokovic closed out 2010 still ranked No. 3 in the world, behind both men, despite finally beating Federer at that US Open before falling to Nadal in the final.

What followed was the biggest turnaround the sport has ever witnessed. Djokovic won 41 consecutive matches from the beginning of the year, a streak that included the Australian Open title and multiple wins over both Nadal and Federer. The run eventually ended at the French Open semifinal against Federer, but he responded immediately, defeating him at the Wimbledon semifinal before capturing the title. 

That title delivered him the one milestone he had been working for years: his first ascension to the world No. 1 ranking. He finished the season with a 70-6 record, including an unparalleled 10-1 record against Federer and Nadal, the two players who had left him doubting himself only a few months before. 

Once he attained the world No.1 spot, he maintained that position for 428 weeks, setting a record. At 39 years, with 24 Grand Slams, Djokovic leads the head-to-head against Federer 27-23 and has two more wins than Nadal in their 60 career meetings.

The mindset shift that changed Djokovic’s career

Beyond the technical and physical modifications that benefited Djokovic, including his diet, the crucial element in turning things around was the shift in his mindset. 

“I think that’s where you really have a golden nugget, or a golden opportunity, to really grow out of it, stronger, more capable, more resilient as a human being but also as a professional athlete,” he said, citing failure and injury as the most significant moments in an athlete’s life, which shape them entirely. 

The interview also covered how Djokovic has attempted to manage that unyielding allure with family life more recently. 

“Family makes me make time for myself and them, trying to find more balance in the last couple of years, as I’ve been really highly involved with tennis in my professional career for the last 30 years, basically my entire life,” he said, adding that prioritizing time with his children has helped him carve out space away from the sport that once consumed nearly all of it.

Looking back, Djokovic said he would happily relive an entirely different period of his life if given the chance, one far removed from ranking points and rivalries. 

“I would love to relive definitely some of the moments in my childhood days,” he said, recalling growing up with his brothers on the mountain of Kopaonik in southern Serbia, where he first picked up a racquet.

After facing heartbreak in the first round of the US Open against Mariano Navone, Djokovic has dropped out of the top 10 rankings for the first time since 2018. He has marked his date of return at the China Open, where he has a perfect record of 29-0.