I still have the passion and hunger to play at the highest professional level: Novak Djokovic

Former World No.1 Novak Djokovic recently took part in the Laver Cup, which brought curtains down on Roger Federer’s beautiful career. Djokovic played some of the biggest matches of his career against Roger Federer and he showered praise on the legendary player.

However, Djokovic revealed that he still has the passion and hunger to keep playing at the highest professional level. Djokovic recently could not play at the US Open due to his unvaccinated status.

“I have massive respect for Roger, and to what he had contributed to our sport. He had an epic career, he can be proud of it. He’s one of the most recognized athletes of all time,” Djokovic said as quoted by ATP Tour. “His retirement is a sad moment for tennis.”

The Serbian is willing to keep going at the top level and has no immediate plans of calling it a day.

“I still want to play tennis even though I achieved pretty much everything that you can achieve in tennis,” Djokovic said. “I still have passion and hunger to play at the highest professional level.” 

Djokovic will next play in Tel Aviv Watergen Open where he will face either Spaniard Pablo Andujar or Brazilian Thiago Monteiro in his opening match.

“I was committed to playing at Laver Cup and I also wanted to play for three weeks in a row, so Tel Aviv was a perfect choice for me,” Djokovic said. “Also because I haven’t been here for a while and the last time here I had a fantastic experience.”

The former World No.1 added he is looking at ways to improve himself as he will be taking on rising stars like Carlos Alcaraz, who recently won the US Open.

“There isn’t one secret or one key that solves all the problems. It’s a combination of things that are part of your character: who you are, how you train, what’s your lifestyle. It all creates the image of success,” Djokovic said. “That formula [has] worked for me. But I also try some new things, because I always want to progress. Especially when you have guys like [Carlos] Alcaraz, who is full of power and adrenaline. So you always have to figure out how to improve and take yourself to a higher level.”