Novak Djokovic's wife Jelena recently teased the Serb regarding his comments on coming to the fag end of his career.
The former World No. 1 beat Daniil Medvedev in the last match of the group stage of the ATP Finals. The Serb, who had already qualified for the semifinals, held on to his nerves to maintain his 100% winning record in the group stage.
However, the grueling match seemed to take a toll on the veteran's health, especially during the second set. The Serb was seen gasping for breath while sitting in his chair.
When asked about it during his post-match press conference, the 21-time Grand Slam winner shed some light on his ordeal and assured fans of his well-being:
"Well, it was just fatigue from a grueling battle. That's all I can say. I mean, there was no illness. There was no particular part of the body that was bothering me. It was just overall physical exhaustion from the rallies and from the length of the play," the Serb said.
He further added that at the twilight of his career, every match is a rare chance for him to defeat one of the best players in the world:
"Again, this stage of my career, every match like this is a golden opportunity for me to grab a win against one of the top guys of the world."
Djokovic's wife, Jelena, reacted to the statement and took to Instagram to reflect on her spouse's potential hint towards retirement. She teased the 35-year-old by claiming that as long as she was his fan, he wouldn't be going anywhere:
"Love how he said at the post match interview that “at this point of his career” every match is golden. Especially after not playing much this year, every match counts. But honey (pun intended) - what stage of your career? 🤣 you ain’t going nowhere as long as I’m #NoleFam @djokernole," Jelena Djokovic said.
"I'm very proud and content to be able to win the match" - Novak Djokovic on his intense win over Daniil Medvedev
Novak Djokovic edged one step closer to winning his sixth ATP Finals title as he qualified for the semifinals of the year-end championship held in Turin.
The Serbian edged past former World No. 1 Medvedev, 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2), to set up a clash with Taylor Fritz in the last four. In the post-match press conference, the Serbian spoke about how his win over the Russian boosted his confidence.
"Of course, I'm very proud and content to be able to win the match that I did today for the reasons that I spoke about earlier. I feel that every big win against one of the best players in the world, particularly Medvedev in these conditions, can only boost your confidence."
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