Novak Djokovic has explained why he reacted the way he did after losing to Jannik Sinner in the French Open semi-finals. The veteran Serb was dumped out at the penultimate hurdle, with his Italian rival winning in straight sets. He struggled to keep a lid on his frustration at times, getting involved in a furious spat with the umpire over a line call in the closing stages.
After losing a third-set tiebreak, Djokovic took a while to leave the court as Sinner celebrated his emphatic victory. He picked up his bag and began to walk towards the locker room but stopped in the middle of the arena to applaud the crowd, who showed him plenty of love in return. He looked emotional as he turned to all four stands before finally making his way off the court.
Quizzed on his emotional reaction in his post-match press conference, Djokovic explained that he wanted to savour the moment because it might have been his final time playing at the French Open.
“I mean, this could have been the last match ever I played here, so I don’t know,” he said. “That’s why I was a bit more emotional even in the end.
“But if this was the farewell match at Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd.”
When asked how long he had been doubting his future at Paris, Djokovic replied: “Not long. You know, I don’t know. I don’t know really what tomorrow brings in a way at this point in my career. You know, I’m going to keep on keeping on.”
Djokovic was then asked to clarify whether he was planning to retire between now and next year’s tournament. He kept his cards close to his chest but insisted that he was planning to play at the remaining Grand Slam events in 2025.
“I said it could have been my last match,” continued Djokovic. “I didn’t say that it was. So, I don’t know right now. 12 months at this point in my career is quite a long time.
“Do I wish to play more? Yes, I do. But will I be able to play in 12 months’ time here again? I don’t know. I don’t know. So, yeah, I mean, that’s all I can say for the moment.
“At the moment I will try to stick with the plan what I had, which is to play the Grand Slams. Those tournaments are the priorities of my schedule, my calendar. Wimbledon and US Open, yes, they are in my plans. That’s all I can say right now.
“I’m going to, unless something, I don’t know, happens, whatever. But I feel like I want to play Wimbledon, I want to play US Open. Those two, for sure. For the rest, I’m not so sure.”
Djokovic will now be looking to rest and recover from his French Open campaign and start preparing for Wimbledon, which is just around the corner. He finished as the runner-up in 2024, which was the last time he played in the final of any Grand Slam event.