Novak Djokovic opened up on one of many hardest elements of his profession as he admitted it was changing into more and more troublesome to depart his household behind. The 24-time Grand Slam champion has two youngsters together with his spouse Jelena. After talking to Djokovic about his life as a tennis participant, Australian TV presenter Karl Stefanovic made a powerful assertion over the world No. 1’s future and eventual retirement.

Djokovic confronted a disappointing finish to the Australian Open this yr, struggling his first defeat ever within the semi-final stage by the hands of Jannik Sinner. The world No. 1 hadn’t misplaced in Melbourne since 2018, bringing an finish to his 33-match profitable streak.

But there appears to be no indication that the world No. 1 is slowing down, even though he shall be 37 by the point the following Grand Slam event rolls round on the French Open. After talking to Djokovic concerning the difficulties of being away from his household, Stefanovic rubbished hypothesis that he was near retirement.

“He’ll be back,” the Nine Network presenter mentioned. “There’s all sorts of debate over what the future holds for him. But he has no time for even thinking about retiring yet. He’s still having a great time but he’s still an incredible dude.”

It comes after Djokovic shared the draw back of enjoying within the Australian Open, as he defined it was the longest journey away from residence. “Do you deal with being away from your kids okay?” Stefanovic requested the 98-time title winner in Melbourne. The 36-year-old replied: “Not really, to be honest. I do struggle with that more and more as the time goes on. Australia is a long trip, probably the longest one that we have in the entire year.”

And Djokovic revealed that he had already missed a milestone in his daughter’s life as he wasn’t there when she misplaced her first tooth. He added: “My son is nine and my daughter is six. Every day, every week they change. My daughter’s first tooth went out and I wasn’t there for that. At the same time, it’s all about balance.”

It’s not the primary time that Djokovic has opened up on the difficulties of balancing work and household. Speaking on the finish of the 2023 season after profitable the ATP Finals, he mentioned: “As a person, again, balance of the private and professional life is the key. I mean, obviously it's different for everyone. We all different individuals.

“This is a very demanding sport with high travel intensity throughout the year. You have to play worldwide, which is beautiful, which allows us to travel the world, play in front of many different people and nations. At the same time it separates you from the family and from the dear ones.

“That was probably the biggest challenge I had internally for me, is how to balance things out and still be able to participate in my children's lives and my wife's life and be able to be there when it matters. When I'm not, how can I stay connected. Obviously technology allows you to communicate, but it's different when you were away.”