The Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic hinted at a possible retirement anytime soon after losing the Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Wimbledon men’s singles final — ending the Serb’s 34-win streak which included four titles in a row.
Alcaraz also became the first man other than Djokovic, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to win Wimbledon in the last 20 years.
Djokovic responded to the loss by hinting at retirement as he admitted he "doesn’t know how long he will be around".
"I would hope so, for my sake (smiling)," Djokovic said. "He’s going to be on the tour for quite some time. I don’t know how long I’ll be around."
The 23-time Grand Slam winner also smashed his racket in frustration after losing his temper for which he was booed by the fans and also received a warning from the match official.
"There’s no much to talk about that," said Djokovic when he was asked about his actions.
"[It] was frustration. I had break points in the second game. Yeah, just tough, tough couple of points.
"He played amazing to break my serve, which was enough to win the fifth [set]."
The Spaniard had nothing but appreciation for his opponent saying that Djokovic is someone he looks after.
“You inspire me a lot. I started playing tennis, watching you, since I was born, you already were winning tournaments. It's amazing - you said 36 is the new 26 & you make that happen,” Alcaraz said while talking about Djokovic. “36 is the new 26. You make that happen.”
Meanwhile, the Serb also lauded the youngster saying: “I thought I’ll only have trouble with you on clay and hard court.”
Djokovic was on his way the win the record 24th Grand Slam and his eighth Wimbledon accolade. With Novak’s loss, Federer still holds the record for the most Wimbledon titles with eight wins.
It must be mentioned that Alcaraz become the first player to win over Djokovic at Wimbledon in six years. He is also the only player the beat him at Centre Court for the first time since Andy Murray did it 10 years ago.