THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 11, 2025

Novak Djokovic

Press Conference

J. SINNER/N. Djokovic

6-3, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Novak, obviously not the result you were hoping for.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Can we start with the questions?

THE MODERATOR: Yes, let's go straight in.

Q. How physically compromised did you feel during the match?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I mean, quite a bit. Honestly, wasn't really a pleasant feeling on the court. Yeah, I don't want to talk, in details, about my injury and just whine about not managing to play my best.

I want to congratulate Jannik for another great performance. That's it. He's in the finals. He was too strong.

I do feel, yeah, disappointed that I just wasn't able to move as well as I thought or hoped that I would.

Q. After what happened in Australia, as well, it seems like you've been unfortunate at big moments this season. Does that make it even harder to take?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't think it's bad fortune. It's just age, the wear and tear of the body. 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.

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 yeah, I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically. The longer the tournament goes, yeah, the worse the condition gets. I reach the final stages, I reach the semis of every slam this year, but I have to play Sinner or Alcaraz.

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

It is what it is, you know? It's one of these things I accept and embrace in some way, deal with the reality the way it is, and try to make the most out of it, I guess.

Q. Would you be sad if that was your last match on Centre Court, to go off like that?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I would be sad, but hopefully it's not my last match on the Centre Court. I'm not planning to finish my Wimbledon career today. So I'm planning to come back definitely at least one more time, play on the Centre Court for sure.

Q. What is the decision? Is it how you feel physically? Is it the competitive element? When you come back next year, what would make the decision about your last Wimbledon?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know. Right now I'm so fresh off the court, it's hard to put things in a larger perspective and say what the plan is for the next few months or a year.

I've put everything I possibly can when it comes to training and preparing myself so I can play my best at Grand Slams. 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. Those are the tournaments that I care about at this stage of my career the most.

So yeah, I probably have to revisit everything and see with my team, with my family, how I want to proceed with my schedule and where I want to peak and how I want to train.

I don't know what I can do differently, to be honest, because 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 cares of themselves more than me. 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.

I might see it right now as a misfortune, but I have gotten so much from God and the life in my career that it would be a disservice really from me to God and to my body and to everything that I had in my career to start complaining about injuries because I've been fit for so long and had an incredible career, so...

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 favorite to win against Sinner, I know that, but I think I had good chances if I was fit.

But it's just that physical aspect that is bothering me. You're there. You want to play. You're determined. But then the body doesn't want to listen. That's it. That's what you can say about it.

Q. May I ask you if you want to share what you told Jannik at the net?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, I mean, look, he apologized for me feeling bad today. There's nothing to apologize from his side. Obviously he's done very well for himself today, and for the last year and a half he's been the best player in the world.

He's going to have a chance to win his first Wimbledon title. I wished him good luck. It's going to be his first finals here. I'm sure he's going to be super pumped.

After the finals they played in Paris, I think the anticipation for this final is big, is amazing. I mean, they're definitely several levels above everyone right now.

Q. I wanted to ask you about the final. Who do you think is going to win?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I think I will give a slight edge to Carlos as a favorite because of the two titles he's won here and the way he's playing and the confidence he has right now.

But it's just a slight advantage 'cause Jannik is hitting the ball extremely well. I think it's going to be, again, a very close matchup like we had in Paris, yeah.