Novak Djokovic says drive to compete still burns despite nearing 40

The vast majority of men's singles players would long have been retired at the age of 39 but Djokovic still wants to prove himself against his much younger rivals.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have been the dominant forces on the ATP Tour since 2024, with Djokovic's last Grand Slam win coming at the 2023 US Open.

The Serbian is still a huge threat at the majors, with the veteran reaching all four semi-finals last year and this season, he reached the Australian Open final and the last four at Wimbledon. But 'Sincaraz' are currently a level above the all-time great.

Djokovic has nothing left to prove after breaking virtually every big record in men's tennis. But the 24-time Grand Slam winner still wants more as we approach the US Open.

However, he did admit that age is finally catching up with him. Indeed, for the last couple of years, Djokovic has had quite a few niggles, while also not entirely letting on the other ailments he is dealing with.

When asked if he thinks about his age while playing, he said on CBS News, "Well, I am thinking about playing great tennis, and really, if I'm not thinking about it, then people remind me. If the people don't remind me of my age, then my body reminds me of my age.

"You're just trying to take every percentage of extra edge that I can get to be able to still compete at an elite level with young guys, right? But, you know, the body is responding differently, and that's just biology.

"You know, the wear and tear of the 20-plus years on the highest level, it's just taking its toll. So, it takes more time for me to recover. So, after that five-hour, 15-minute quarterfinals [at Wimbledon], you know, I just couldn't fully recover for the semis, and I wasn't as fresh as I wanted to be.

"But not to take anything away from Sinner, who won and won the tournament. But it's just, it's different nowadays."

The one glaring omission from Djokovic's stacked tennis CV was the Olympic gold in singles. After multiple failed attempts, Djokovic finally achieved his heart's desire by winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

None would have begrudged him from sailing off into the sunset but Djokovic still thinks he has something to prove.

He added, "Yeah, I do. I do. I mean, there's always something to prove to myself primarily and to others, but to myself that I can always be better than I was yesterday."

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