LeBron, Ronaldo, Brady ‘inspire’ Djokovic to play into 40s

Novak Djokovic wants to follow sporting greats such as LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo and Tom Brady by playing in his 40s and help shape the future of tennis.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion, 38, reached the semi-finals of all four major tournaments this year.

Djokovic has been chasing one more to move clear of Australian Margaret Court for the most Grand Slam singles titles in history.

However, his last came at the 2023 US Open when he was 36 – the same age his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal also won their final majors.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner won two each this year, with Djokovic losing to Sinner in the last four at Wimbledon and the French Open, and Spaniard Alcaraz at the US Open.

Every tournament exit has led to questions about his future, but Djokovic said he had no plans to retire and took inspiration from stars in other sports who have defied age to play at the top.

He told Riyadh Season: “Longevity is one of my biggest motivations.

“I really want to see how far I can go. If you see across all the global sports, Lebron James he is still going strong, he is 40, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40-something years old, it is unbelievable.

“They are inspiring me.

“In the next couple of years tennis is a sport that can be greatly transformed and I want to be part of that change.

“I want to be playing when we rejuvenate our sport and set the new platform that is going to go on for decades to come.”

Leading players are pushing the Grand Slams for a greater share of revenue, while the Professional Tennis Players Association – co-founded by Djokovic – launched lawsuits against tennis’ governing bodies earlier this year in an effort to force through changes.

Djokovic was speaking in Saudi Arabia for the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament, where he and six-time major champion Alcaraz have been given byes to the semi-finals.

There is a reported $4.5m (£3.4m) in prize money on offer, with some players also likely to have been paid seven-figure sums to appear.

Reports say the winner could take home up to $6m (£4.5m).