WATCH: Novak Djokovic once again quashes retirement rumours; cites Ronaldo & LeBron’s examples

24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is currently featuring in the Six Kings Slam, underway at the ANB Arena in Riyadh. However, the 38-year-old’s campaign came to a heartbreaking end when he lost

to Jannik Sinner in the semi-final, 4-6, 2-6. With this win, Sinner has now won his last six games against the Serb, including the French Open and Wimbledon semi-finals wins this season.

While he must have been ousted from the competition but continues to remain one of the greats of the game, having won 24 Grand Slam titles. After an heartbreaking end to his campaign in Riyadh, Djokovic was once again put to answer questions around his retirement, which have been long in talks. But this time, he now only quashed them, but cited examples of some of the greats like Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James.

Sorry to disappoint them: Novak Djokovic responds to whether Alcaraz & Sinner will force him to retire

Speaking at the Joy Forum in Riyadh, the 38-year-old expressed “longevity” as one of the motivations to prolong his career. “Longevity is one of my biggest motivations. I really want to see how far I can go,” Djokovic said. “If you see across all the global sports, LeBron James, he’s still going strong, he’s 40, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Tom Brady played till he was 40-something years old. I mean, it’s unbelievable. They’re inspiring me as well. So I want to keep going and that’s one of the motivations I have,” he further continued.

The Serbian also expressed excitement on being part of tennis’ future evolution stating, “I want to also live to see, live meaning still keep on playing professionally, to see the changes that is coming for our sport.” He further added, “And I’m super excited about it. I feel like tennis is a sport that can be greatly, and will be greatly transformed. I want to be part of that change. I want to be not just part of that change, but I want to be playing when we kind of rejuvenate our sport and set the new platform that is going to go on for decades to come.”

Notably, the Serb is fighting for his record-breaking 25^th career Grand Slam with his last Grand Slam victory coming in 2023. But as he continues to play actively, he recently registered his 100^th career title in Geneva this year and continues to push as he is ranked fifth at the moment.  When questioned about whether young players like Sinner and Alcaraz would force him to retire, Djokovic quickly quipped, “I’m sorry to disappoint them, it’s just not happening.”