Novak Djokovic revealed he doesn’t know if he’ll return to play on the French Open in 2027, after the 24-time Grand Slam champion was knocked out by 19-year-old Joao Fonseca within the third spherical on Friday.
Djokovic suffered a 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5 defeat to the world No 30, making this the 39-year-old’s worst end at a Grand Slam for the reason that US Open in 2024.
When requested by a reporter if he can be returning for subsequent yr’s match, the three-time French Open champion responded, saying: “I don’t know.”
Requested whether or not he can be completely happy to finish his profession on the French Open following at this time’s loss, he replied: “I don’t know.”
“Tough to reflect on this right now, if you all would understand me,” he later added when requested about his legacy at Roland Garros.
“However on the similar time, there have been a few instances the place I felt like I used to be barely standing on my legs in direction of the tip of the match, and looking out on the crowd and seeing them elevate my spirits and help me was one thing actually magical, actually.
“So when I take out all the disappointment and negative thoughts about the match, you know, there’s a lot to be proud about, what I’ve been through, what I experienced, you know. I’m very grateful for this kind of experience, yeah.”
Djokovic has beforehand insisted that he has no intention to retire whereas he is nonetheless motivated to maintain competing, telling reporters at Indian Wells: “Why stop as long as I still have the fire, the flair, the quality and the motivation?”
Nevertheless, the world No 4 has beforehand hinted that he may look to hold up his racket after the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
His final Grand Slam title got here on the US Open in 2023, with Djokovic, who has the third-most profession wins within the historical past of the ATP Tour, 101, narrowly lacking out on claiming his elusive twenty fifth Slam title to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in 2024 and at this yr’s Australian Open.
On Friday, Djokovic was additionally requested whether or not his “mind had begun to think about the rest of the tournament” after world No 1 Jannik Sinner was knocked out by Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Alcaraz had withdrawn earlier than the Grand Slam by means of damage.
The Serbian shut down the query instantly, saying: “I don’t care. I don’t care. I’ll stop you right there. No. Just lost the third round. Let’s just talk about something else. Thank you.”
Novak Djokovic has been knocked out of the French Open a day after Jannik Sinner suffered an upset
Djokovic superior to the third spherical by beating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard within the first spherical, earlier than besting Valentin Royer over 4 units.
“The amount of hours I’ve played in three matches here felt like I played every tournament in the last three months, to be honest,” he stated.
“I think I was playing good tennis, really good level. Considering I was injured for three months and trying to come back and then, you know, going pretty much straight into Grand Slam on this surface that is very demanding and, for me, takes more time to get used to, to kind of find my groove.
“, taking every little thing into consideration and all of the circumstances, I believe the extent was actually good. I imply, I used to be pleased with my stage.”
Djokovic lauds Fonseca after his huge win
The Serbian was seen sharing a moment with Fonseca after their match.
Fonseca rose to stardom last year, beating some big opponents, including Alex de Minaur, and has continued to perform in 2026, besting world No 10 Matteo Berrettini at the Monte Carlo Masters, and now Djokovic.
Joao Fonseca got here from two units right down to beat Novak Djokovic
“I congratulated him and told him that he deserved to win and played an unbelievable match, and he should be proud of himself and wished him good luck for the rest of the tournament,” Djokovic stated, reflecting on the second.
“The kind of level of tennis we’ve seen him play created a lot of hype around him, and I think we have all seen today why there is hype around him. So, yeah, just the level was amazing.”
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