Djokovic’s Grand Slam dreams unshaken by injury, vows to keep competing

It could be tempting to write off Novak Djokovic at this point to think he might be closer than ever to being done competing for Grand Slam titles and closer than ever to retirement where his greatest oncourt rivals Roger Federer Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray already residePerhaps those sorts of thoughts are natural in the immediate aftermath of Djokovics exit from the Australian Open semifinals on Friday with a torn leg muscle He was booed off the court when he quit right after dropping the first set against Alexander Zverev an abrupt end to Djokovics pursuit of an 11th trophy at Melbourne Park and an unprecedented 25th major championship overallIt was the second time in the past four Slams that Djokovic needed to abandon his spot in the latter stages of the bracket At last years French Open he tore the meniscus in his right knee during a fourthround victory and withdrew before the quarterfinals then needed surgeryAlso relevant to the conversation Djokovic will turn 38 before this years next major which begins at Roland Garros in late May That was Nadals age when he closed his career in November Murray a week older than Djokovic stopped playing last August and coached Djokovic in Melbourne Federers last Grand Slam match came when he was 39 although he didnt announce he was done until the following yearHow much of a worry is it I dont know Its not like Im worrying when approaching every Grand Slam now whether Im going to get injured or not But statistics are against me in a way in the last couple of years he acknowledged So it is true that Ive been getting injured quite a bit the last few years I dont know what exactly is the reason for that Maybe several different factorsWhat Djokovic said next is sure to make his fans happy and opponents waryIll keep going Ill keep striving to win more Slams Djokovic said And as long as I feel that I want to put up with all of this Ill be aroundKeep in mind that Djokovic got hurt late in the first set of his previous match against 21yearold Carlos Alcaraz a fourtime major champ whos been ranked No 1 Despite that Djokovic played well enough to erase a deficit and overcome Alcaraz in four setsKeep this in mind too Less than 1 12 months after last seasons operation on his knee Djokovic made it all the way to the final at Wimbledon where he lost to Alcaraz Three weeks after that Djokovic made it all the way to the final at the Paris Olympics where he beat Alcaraz to finally collect the gold medal hed long wanted to bring home to SerbiaDjokovic wasnt able to give a timeline Friday for how long hell be sidelined now He wasnt quite prepared to commit to returning to the Australian Open either when asked if this might have been his last appearance saying There is a chance Who knows Ill just have to see how the season goes If Im fit healthy motivated I dont see a reason why I wouldnt comeThere is plenty of evidence that it is a mistake to consider Djokovic doneStill there are going to be those who have doubts about Djokovics health and longevityThere already were such questions in some quarters actually no matter how nonsensical Onair remarks by a commentator working for the host broadcaster about Djokovic being overrated and a hasbeen caused a stir during Week 1 of this Australian OpenNo one who knows anything about Djokovic or tennis would use those termsNovak has done absolutely everything he could on the tennis court in the last 20 years said Zverev who will be seeking his first Grand Slam title when he meets defending champion Jannik Sinner in Sundays final at Rod Laver ArenaHes won this tournament with an abdominal tear where most players cant even continue playing Hes won this tournament with a hamstring tear Zverev said Hes a 10time champion We should all just respect that in a way because theres nobody in this sports history who has won and who has done as much as himWith AP inputs