Novak Djokovic competed in Six Kings Slam for exhibition tennis event for second consecutive year. He faced world no.2 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals but ended up disappointed as he was defeated. The Italian maestro prevailed recording 6-2, 6-2 win.
Djokovic opened up about the loss and mentioned about his state of mind after playing a long 2025 season. He said that his spirit is still high and gave a clear verdict on his retirement.
“Longevity is one of my biggest motivations. I really want to see how far I can go. If you see across all the global sports, Lebron James he is still going strong, he is 40, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40-something years old, it is unbelievable,” Djokovic told Riyadh Season.
“They are inspiring me. In the next couple of years, tennis is a sport that can be greatly transformed, and I want to be part of that change. I want to be playing when we rejuvenate our sport and set the new platform that is going to go on for decades to come,” he added.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t see a longer match today. It’s his fault, not my fault. … It felt like a runaway train. He was smacking the ball from all corners. I was just trying to hang in there.”
— Netflix Sports (@netflixsports) October 16, 2025
Novak Djokovic showing love to Jannik Sinner ❤️ #SixKingsSlam pic.twitter.com/qcStnxkWXx
Djokovic then opened up about playing against Tennis champions like Sinner and Alcaraz.
Also Read: Shanghai Masters: What happened to Jannik Sinner? Here’s why he retired from third round!
“It’s always worth it [competing against Sinner and Alcaraz]. The love for the game and the passion for tennis is there. Excuse my language but it’s never nice when someone kicks your a** like this on the court. But it definitely is amazing that I’m still able to play at a high level.
