Novak Djokovic| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Novak Djokovic has no plans to hold up his racket any time quickly and is hoping he would possibly have the ability to emulate American soccer nice Tom Brady by extending his profession effectively previous his fortieth birthday, the 36-year-old Serbian mentioned on December 27.

Quarterback Brady performed 23 seasons within the National Football League, profitable seven Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier than lastly calling it quits on the age of 45 earlier this 12 months.

World primary Djokovic, who's making ready for the beginning of his twenty second season as knowledgeable by taking part in an exhibition match towards Carlos Alcaraz in Riyadh on December 28, mentioned he had already discovered a lot from Brady.

"Tom Brady is a great example of a champion in his sport and someone that has had such a great career and longevity," the 24-times Grand Slam champion informed reporters within the Saudi capital.

“He has put a lot of hours and a lot of time into self-care, into recovery, into making sure that in a way every aspect of his body and mind is covered so that he can have a long-lasting, successful career.”

"I know him personally and I learned a lot from him, from his example, and hopefully I can have a career that goes up to 40 or maybe even beyond - let's see."

Brady was in Djokovic's field at Roland Garros in June to observe his buddy win the French Open, one in all three Grand Slam trophies the Serbian captured in 2023 together with the Australian and U.S. Open titles.

"I feel great in my own body right now and I've been playing some really high-quality tennis," Djokovic added.

"2023 was one of the best seasons I've had in my life and why stop while you're still playing great? So I'll keep going and take (each) year, one by one, and see how far I go."

Alcaraz beat the Serbian in a five-set thriller to win this year's other Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and Djokovic welcomed the rise of the 20-year-old Spaniard, particularly as Mr. Roger Federer has retired and Rafa Nadal is getting into his final season.

"Our era is coming to an end, but you have Alcaraz emerging which is great, and I was very happy that I had four very good matches with him this year," Djokovic mentioned.

"Each match attracted a lot of attention, we had a lot of great highlights and it's good, it's good for our sport."

Djokovic will make his last preparations for a tilt at an eleventh Australian Open title by representing his nation within the United Cup in Perth and Sydney within the first week of the brand new 12 months.