Djokovic set to forge ahead despite Wimbledon loss

Novak Djokovic on Friday quickly archived a promising – but losing – effort against Jannik Sinner in their Wimbledon final, with the Serb sounding optimistic about remaining comfortably in the upper strata of tennis.

The 39-year-old with the 24 Grand Slam singles titles gave away a decade and a half to world No. 1 Sinner, who dominated in a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win into his second straight final here.

Djokovic said that his fitness during the All England Club fortnight remained strong and gave every indication that his tennis career is more than alive and well.

And after fighting through a five-hour-plus -quarterfinal on Tuesday against Felix Auger-Aliassime and going toe-to-toe with Sinner, the veteran remains convinced he still has good chances on court.

And retirement does not currently seem to be in the frame.

“I still enjoy the thrill of competition. Maybe I don’t enjoy putting myself over and over again through a lot of pain, physically,” he Serb said.

“I’m glad that this tournament, the body held pretty well..pretty much every other tournament in the last two years it was always something (physical).

“I feel when I’m healthy, I’m still able to play as a top-five player, still able to compete at the highest level. I like it. I like this life. 

“At the same time, there’s always a question of how far you want to go, what you want to play, how you want to play, et cetera, et cetera.

“I try to take it a day at a time, see how I really feel. I don’t have any pressure or no one is forcing me to play. I do it because I really want to.”

The competitor in Djokovic still regrets the loss to Sinner. He said it leaves “a little bitter taste that I wasn’t at the desired level today. 

“But yeah, we turn the next page and we move on.”

Main photo:- Novak Djokovic runs out of steam in Semi-Final loss to Jannik Sinner – by Roger Parker ISF Ltd