'It's Just Age, Wear And Tear Of The Body': Reality Check For Novak Djokovic Following Wimbledon Exit

Last Updated:July 12, 2025, 11:13 IST

Djokovic went down to a 3-6, 3-6, 4-6 defeat at the hands of the World No.1 Jannik Sinner in the semifinal of the grass court Major.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic tries to keep cool during a change of ends break against Italy's Jannik Sinner in a men's singles semifinal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Serbian icon Novak Djokovic was shown the exit door at the 2025 edition of Wimbledon on Friday as he went down to World No.1 Jannik Sinner in straight sets in the semifinal of the grass court Major.

Djokovic went down to a 3-6, 3-6, 4-6 defeat at the hands of the Italian, who moved into the final of the Grand Slam event against Carlos Alcaraz.

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Djokovic suffered a nasty fall during the final knockings of his quarterfinal game against Flavio Cobolli, but refused to point to that as a reason for his defeat against Sinner.

“It wasn’t really a pleasant feeling on the court. I don’t want to talk, in details, about my injury and just whine about not managing to play my best," Djokovic said after the defeat.

“I want to congratulate Jannik for another great performance. That’s it. He’s in the finals. He was too strong," the Serbian lauded the top-seed.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion revealed that his advancing age was taking a toll on his body and that isn’t the player he was a couple of years ago.

“It’s just age, the wear and tear of the body," the 38-year-old said.

“As much as I’m taking care of it, the reality hits me right now, last year and a half, like never before, to be honest," he added.

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Djokovic also touched upon the impact deep runs at events have on him and the fact that he’d have to square up against young guns towards the business end of tournaments could prove challenging.

“It’s tough for me to accept that because I feel like when I’m fresh, when I’m fit, I can still play really good tennis. I’ve proven that this year."

“But I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically. The longer the tournament goes the worse the condition gets. I reach the final stages, I reached the semis of every Slam this year, but I have to play Sinner or Alcaraz," the seven-time Wimbledon champion said.

“These guys are fit, young, sharp. I feel like I’m going into the match with the tank half empty. It’s just not possible to win a match like that," he added.

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Djokovic hasn’t managed to clinch a Grand Slam title this year yet as Sinner clinched the Australian Open at Melbourne Park before Carlos Alcaraz claimed the French Open crown at Roland Garros. But, despite his exit from SW19 Djokovic still feels that Majors bring the best out in him.

“I think, regardless of the fact that I haven’t won a Grand Slam this year, or last year, I still feel like I continue to play my best tennis at Grand Slams," he said.

“Those are the tournaments that I care about at this stage of my career the most," Djokovic revealed.

Djokovic, who has managed to prolong his career beyond that of his peers, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, thanks to his impeccable fitness regime acknowledged that old age does come to us all eventually.

“The amount of hours that I spend on a daily basis to take care of myself, I’d like to challenge everyone who is out there on the tour to see if anybody takes care of themselves more than me," the Serbian said.

“And I, unfortunately, don’t get rewarded for that right now, with injuries at the later stages of Slams. But I was rewarded for many, many years," he revealed.

“I’m just trying to make, I guess, the maximum out of what I have left. Again, I just got off the court, so of course, I’m upset and disappointed, mostly not for the loss, because obviously even if I was fit, I wasn’t a favourite to win against Sinner, I know that, but I think I had good chances if I was fit."

Djokovic predicted a slugfest in the final of the tournament as Sinner is slated to take on Alcaraz. The Serbian legend gave the e

“I think I will give a slight edge to Carlos as a favourite because of the two titles he’s won here and the way he’s playing and the confidence he has right now," he said.

“But it’s just a slight advantage because Jannik is hitting the ball extremely well. I think it’s going to be, again, a very close match-up like they had in Paris

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