Despite completing his Career Golden Slam in 2024 after winning gold at the Paris Olympics to go with his 24 Grand Slams, Djokovic has made it clear that he still has the motivation to continue playing.
He has even hired Andy Murray as his coach for the start of the 2025 campaign as he has started he wants to win more majors.
The Serbian – who started his professional career in 2003 – is the last man standing from the Big Three after Rafael Nadal joined Roger Federer in retirement this year.
Djokovic will turn 38 next May, the same age as Nadal was when he called it a day while Federer was 41 when he hung up his racket in August 2022.
Davydenko, who was forced to retire early due to injuries, was asked about playing once you have reached 40 and believes Djokovic could well be looking to surpass Federer and Nadal’s age record.
“I’m 43 years old… If I finished at 25 because of an injury, I could come back at 30 after recovering. At my age, my body can’t cope with such loads,” he told Match TV.
“Nadal wasn’t even 40, and he couldn’t physically fight with professionals from the top 50 at the same level. It’s useless. Federer at 40 tried to prove he was tough. But he didn’t prove anything.
“We are not robots. The loads are serious, injuries happen. Take any current tennis player – everyone had, has or will have health problems. Everyone finishes their career because of injuries that limit our training.”
Both Federer and Nadal retired as they struggled with injuries during the final few years of their career as the Swiss failed to overcome a knee problem while the Spaniard never fully recovered from the hip injury he sustained at the start of the 2022 season.
Djokovic has already broken dozens of Federer and Nadal’s records – including most Grand Slams won by a male player, most weeks spent at No 1 and most ATP Masters 1000 titles.
Davydenko added: “He’s trying to cheat nature. We’ll see if he succeeds. Maybe he wants to surpass Federer and Nadal’s record for longest career. Roger finished at 41, maybe Novak wants to reach that age. Maybe he’ll play fewer tournaments.”
