The former champion predicts: Novak Djokovic will say goodbye to tennis in Melbourne

Novak Djokovic missed the Wimbledon final for the first time in six years. The Serbian tennis player ended his performance in London in the semi-finals, defeated by Jannik Sinner, and was also injured.

Although he said after the tournament that he would not be away from the court for long, many are wondering when Novak will return, in order to prepare for the last Grand Slam of the season, the US Open.

At the conference in London, Novak said: 

"This will definitely not be my last Wimbledon" and added that he plans to come back and play at least one more time. However, considering the frequent defeats by the tandem of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the question arises when the legendary former number one will put an end to his brilliant career and finish playing professionally.

Rene Stab, the former number one player in the world in doubles, expressed her opinion in her podcast that she believes that Novak will decide that his last Grand Slam appearance will be at the Australian Open in Melbourne, the tournament where he won a record ten titles.

"I think he kind of hinted that his last Grand Slam would be the Australian Open. The reason for that is that he is the most successful there, he has won ten titles. It is not a bad way to say goodbye to tennis, if he chooses to do so. It is certainly the place where he had the best chance of a Grand Slam. If he does win his 25th trophy, it will probably be there," Stab believes.

John McEnroe reacts

Tennis legend John McEnroe is not too optimistic about Novak's return: 

"Respect to the great Novak, but no one has beaten time." Many believed that at 38 years old, Novak has the best chance at Wimbledon, but in the last three years, Carlos Alcaraz has won the titles there twice and Jannik Sinner.

Rene Stab further explains: “I thought Novak had the best chance at Wimbledon, but that opportunity has now gone. I feel like he thinks the Australian Open was a wonderful place in his life, he had a lot of dramatic moments there, but he also experienced bad treatment from the Australian government. It’s an interesting dichotomy, but I believe that’s where he wants to end his career. I think he’ll play his last Grand Slam there.”

After Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic is still sixth in the world ATP rankings with 4,130 points.