Tennis legend Novak Djokovic says "there's always something to prove"

Tennis legend Novak Djokovic is one of the world's greatest athletes of all time. Listen to his numbers. He holds a whole lot of records including 24 Grand Slam singles titles, the most ever, and astonishing 428 weeks, ranked as number one in men's singles. Wow. A new documentary, it's coming out next month, is going to take us behind the scenes of his life and his career. It's called Novak Djokovic, The Wolf in Winter. Here's an exclusive clip. Oftentimes I feel that I am imprisoning myself. In order for you to thrive and to be at the maximum of your abilities, you have to literally transform every part of your life outside of the tennis court to be in service to the tennis court. And that has consequences. We are very excited to say that Novak Djokovic, a goat, is in the building today. Good morning to you. Good morning to you too. You've just come from Wimbledon, getting ready for the U.S. Open in New York next month. But I want to go back a little bit about when you first started with this sport because I was surprised to learn that tennis wasn't a natural fit for you because you come from a family of skiers. I do. I do come from a family of professional skiers. I was four years of age and I started playing tennis. No one has touched the racket in my extended family ever before. We don't have a tennis tradition in Serbia. We didn't have it to that point. And then I was interested in what's this sport. And then I started. I fell in love. I asked my dad to buy me a racket and that's how the whole love story with tennis started. But the people close to you say this about you, that tennis is a safe space for you, a place where you find love, a place where you show all of your emotions on the court. Because, you know, we've seen many different sides of Novak on the court. Indeed, because I would connect it to my childhood, my upbringing, war-torn country, several wars during 90s, embargo sanctions, economical crisis, social crisis, crisis of every kind. I mean, I chose the most expensive sport and my parents wanted to support me. And I have two younger brothers and they also wanted to play tennis and they really didn't receive the kind of resourceful support that I was getting. And, you know, my parents felt bad about it, but that's the kind of a time that they had to make a choice. And so I made an oath to myself that I'm going to repay my parents and my brothers that they have the best life possible. But here we are in 2026, because all that work that you did has led to where you are now. You've just come back from Wimbledon. And I just want to talk about that, the match in the quarterfinals where you played over five hours and 15 minutes. I was just in awe of you that night. And I wonder, do you think about your age at 39? Is it something you think about when you're still playing at the level that you're playing? Well, I am thinking about playing great tennis. And really, if I'm not thinking about it, then people remind me. If the people don't remind me of my age, then my body reminds me of my age. And you're just trying to take every percentage of x-rays that I can get to be able to still compete at an elite level with young guys, right? But the body is responding differently. And that's just biology. The wear and tear of the 20 plus years on the highest level, it's just taking its toll. So it takes more time for me to recover. So after that five hour, 15 minute quarterfinals, I just couldn't fully recover for the semis. And I wasn't as fresh as I wanted to be, but not to take anything away from a senior who won and won the tournament. But it's just it's different nowadays. What are you looking forward most in the U.S. Open next month in New York City? Who's going to be your biggest competition? Myself, always. U.S. Open is one of the four slams. It's the most, I think, entertaining, most exciting Grand Slam, the biggest stadium in our sport, Arthur Ashe. Can't wait. One of the biggest things of why I still compete is the energy of the crowd and the appreciation and respect that I've been getting, particularly in the last several years around the world, is something I cannot thank people enough. It matters a lot to me. What is it about your children and your wife that also sustains you when times get tough and just keeps you at the top of your game? My wife has been a rock. She has been so supportive. It would be very difficult for me to do what I do, still be able to do what I do without her support and her keeping the whole household and also emotionally dealing with our children. After I leave them and the absence, missing out on some important dates and events in their life, it's hard. She continues to support me to live my dream. I also want to balance it out now. That's why I don't play as much as I used to, because I want to be the best husband, father, brother, son that I can possibly be. Before you go, I wanted to talk about how you talked about Serena. When Serena came back at Wimbledon, it didn't go the way that she planned, and there was all this. You said what about that? Let's enjoy and celebrate who she is, what she has achieved. What she's doing now, after having two children, after being away from professional tennis for so many years, is a gift for us, for anyone who loves tennis, for anyone who loves sport, for anyone who admires Serena and her legacy. Whatever happens, it doesn't matter if she wins or loses, it's already epic. It's what I told her personally in Wimbledon, and it's what I truly, honestly feel in my heart. I want her to feel happy and joyful on the court, because in a sense, to some extent, I know how it feels, still trying to push at that age when you have achieved everything that you possibly can, but just looking at her being on the court is already a sight for the eye, so I wish her all the best. Let's appreciate the greatness. We're all hoping that she comes to the US Open, because like yourself, she is a GOAT. Do you feel at this stage you still have something to prove? Yeah, I do. I mean, there's always something to prove, to myself primarily, and to others, but you know, to myself that I can always be better than I was yesterday. Okay, I feel that too. I can always be better than I was yesterday. We thank you. We are cheering you on always. I can't wait to see you on the court next month. Thank you so much. I will be there.