37 years old and he’s still going! Novak Djokovic recently snapped his winless streak with a dominating 6-0,7-6(1) win against Australia’s Rinky Hijikata in the second round of the 2025 Miami Open. The Serb started his season pretty well by making it to the SF at the AO, but he was forced to take a mid-match retirement against Alexander Zverev due to an injury. And the struggles continued in Doha and Indian Wells. Following his early exit from Indian Wells, the 24-time GS winner admitted, “Things are different obviously for me the last couple of years. I’ve been struggling to play on the desired level.” Did he drop a hint about an imminent retirement plan? Well, the veteran has now cleared the air after getting off to a winning start in Miami.
This is Djokovic’s first appearance at the Miami Open since 2019. He is currently chasing his record seventh title in Miami and a title triumph here would also ensure his 100th tour-level title. So, there is a lot at stake for the Serb at the moment and he has no intentions of taking the foot off the gas. “I still have it in my legs, in my hands, in my arms,” he said before the match against Hijikata and wasn’t he right? Well, the scoreline of 6-0, 7-6(1) speaks volumes.
In the post-match interview, Djokovic was asked about the two most important things at this stage of his career, replying to which he said, “Uhh! Yeah I mean (laughs) there are a few things I’d say but if we have to boil it down to two things, yeah staying healthy definitely. Which I’ve done pretty well for most of my career! But obviously, you know body is not the same like it was 10 or 15 years ago. So I’ve to put in more time in taking care of it. Taking care of my psychological state and really trying to get up in the morning and feel motivated to keep going and push.“
Djokovic didn’t drop a game in the first set against Hijikata as he managed to secure his victory against the Aussie in a little over an hour and twenty minutes. Happy to maintain a “very high level” performance right from the start of this match, Djokovic added, “Obviously if I’m feeling and playing the way, the way I did today, it’s a pleasure. I find joy on the court and you know, regardless of where I am, and then I want to keep going for as long as I have that feeling.“
The Serb continued, “Obviously it’s not going to be there every match but as long as I have that feeling of being able to compete with these guys at the highest level, I’ll keep going.” He concluded by saying that the “desire is there” and he also has the support of the closest people in his life. So, all he now wants is to be patient and see how far he can go.
“As long as I have that feeling of being able to compete with the guys at the highest level, I’ll keep going!”
Novak Djokovic says he’s ‘finding joy’ on the court following his opening round win at the #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/ajrd8abWfk
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 21, 2025
Talking about the support of his family members, in January this year during an interview with GQ Magazine, Djokovic jokingly said that his father had been trying to get him to retire for some time. “He respects my decision to move forward and, of course, understands why I want to continue, but he says to me: ‘What else do you want to do?’,” said Nole. In that same interview, Djokovic also admitted that he now thinks more about how he wants to retire rather than when he wants to retire.
Djokovic will now face Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the next round in Miami. A win here would take him a step closer to creating yet another historic feat in his career.
Novak Djokovic can surpass Rafael Nadal’s astonishing record with a win against the Argentine in the next round
Novak Djokovic is currently leveled with his long-time rival Rafael Nadal with 410 ATP 1000 wins. So, a win in the next round will put him above the Spaniard. Is Novak aware of all these records, though? Well, yes.
If he wins this tournament, Nole will also surpass Andre Agassi’s record (6) of winning the most No. of Miami Open titles, apart from hitting the tally of 100 in terms of the ATP singles titles. “Miami, for sure. I’d love to celebrate the 100th win here. But let’s see, it’s a long tournament. Of course, it encourages me knowing, that I can play the way I played today, but it’s a long ride. Hopefully, I can do well and I can get myself in a good position in the finals to fight for a trophy. That would be amazing.“
Djokovic wanted to make a statement in Miami and he has already succeeded in doing so with his dominating performance in R64. He even credited intense discussions with Andy Murray for his incredible performance against Hijikata. But wait a minute! Did Nick Kyrgios also have a role in this win?
During the initial phases of the match, Kyrgios shared a video clip of Djokovic serving against Hijikata. The Serb was seen hammering his forehand against the Aussie and Kyrgios captioned that post with, “I told Andy before the match he has to get back to redirecting that backhand man .“
So, Djokovic has a lot of well-wishers already in Miami. Do you think he can win the title for the seventh time in Miami? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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