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From New York tears to Beijing revival: Novak Djokovic just changed the conversation around his retirement and LA 2028
Today, Novak Djokovic will play against Alex de Minaur for his first title since the Hellenic Championship in Athens on November 8, 2025.
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About a month ago, Novak Djokovic left New York in tears. It was his first round-one exit at a Grand Slam in 20 years, and his first ever at Flushing Meadows. The manner of the defeat, with Djokovic gasping for breath amid health concerns, raised questions in tennis about how soon he would retire. It felt like the end was near. Questions also grew over whether his LA Olympics swansong was realistic, with some urging him to put his health first.
Over the last seven days in Beijing, he beat reigning US Open champion Alexander Zverev, outlasted Daniil Medvedev and reached the final. Today, he will face Alex de Minaur for a chance to win his first title since the Hellenic Championship in Athens on November 8, 2025.
For Djokovic, the health concerns remain. Through each of his matches, he has struggled to move with ease and looked almost exhausted each time he took his seat on the bench. And yet, he has managed to show that he can still win despite the problem — keeping his dream of competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics alive.
A season that kept hurting
Deep Dive
Having reached at least the semifinal in each of the Slams last year, the 39-year-old showed that even at his age, he is ready to take it a notch higher when he took down two-time reigning Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner in the semifinal. There were more positives in that campaign that Djokovic took home, despite the eventual loss in the final in four sets to Carlos Alcaraz.
But the results soon dipped. For a man who showed he was immune to age-induced physical struggles even as his long-time rivals exited the scene, Djokovic suddenly showed the signs. He lost to Jack Draper in the Indian Wells fourth round and then to Dino Prizmic in the second round in Rome, before incurring the most shocking defeat in the summer -- to teenager Joao Fonseca in five sets in the third round of Roland Garros.
Wimbledon brought him some respite with a semifinal run, but not without a gruelling five-set battle against Felix Auger-Aliassime and a calf problem in the previous round, and Sinner capitalised on it to avenge his Melbourne loss.
New York was the low point
The Serb crashed to his low in round one against Mariano Navone, 7-6(5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, in four hours and 36 minutes, at the US Open. The signs were there to see, in Cincinnati, where he incurred the same health issue. But on Arthur Ashe, Djokovic did not look like himself. He vomited, cramped, felt his back and shoulder give out, and could barely move. At one point, he even thought of quitting mid-match, before he launched a comeback, but eventually gave in in the final set. "It's something that I have been carrying pretty much every match this year," he said of the vomiting.
The debate that followed was sharp. Tim Henman said he definitely shouldn't stop now. Marion Bartoli found it heartbreaking to watch and said his health should come first.
For the longest time, Djokovic had made it perfectly clear that he would hang up his racquet at the LA Olympics. And even through his run in January in Melbourne, there was no iota of doubt in that, even as the titles dried up. But New York triggered a question he never faced before -- is the end closer than he realises?
Beijing was the answer
He arrived in Beijing saying he was feeling good so far. He still lacked form, and didn't look well early on. He took medical timeouts for his abdomen against Nuno Borges and his torso against Bu Yunchaokete, and won both.
But when pitted against a man he called "probably the best player in the world at the moment," he stepped up and beat Zverev 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, a result he rated among his two best matches of the year, alongside the Sinner win in Melbourne.
Against Medvedev, the health concerns troubled him again, he was often seen catching breath between points, which the Russian appeared to mock, and yet he showed the caliber that won him 24 Slams. He saved 16 of 18 break points and led 7-5, 5-3 when Medvedev was defaulted.
The former US Open winner had, in fact, said ahead of the face-off that Djokovic was "crazy" because he's old and still plays so well.
He is now 33-0 in Beijing, and into his seventh final at the ATP 500 tournament.
Djokovic has yet to reveal any details of his health struggles. Perhaps he is still figuring it out.
"It's not stamina. It's something else. More related to health," he said in Beijing. "I don't want to be revealing what it is, but I'm trying to get to the bottom of it with my team." He added that some days his methods work and some days they don't.
Although, after beating Zverev, he admitted that he felt physically good that night and a few days before, "and that wasn't the case for most of the year."
Is LA still a possibility?
That's still two years away. Having won the gold in Paris, he will definitely back himself to finish on a high in Los Angeles. Wouldn't that be the perfect swansong for the most decorated player in tennis history?
But Djokovic, though optimistic, is still taking it step by step. "My only concern is health issues. Once they're resolved, I see no problem with heading to Los Angeles."
Title or not, Beijing will certainly hold significance for him at this stage of his career, and once the "once" is figured out, LA Olympics will certainly look more feasible for Djokovic.
