July 10, 2025

By Jamie Towey

Well, at times it looks like Novak’s barely aging. Whether you follow tennis or not, watch this rally from a couple days ago. It is simply jaw-dropping. It might tempt you to believe the escapist adage that age is merely a number. It’s staggering what Djokovic is doing just shy of age 40. He is the only top-40-ranked player over the age of 35. But the fact remains, Djokovic is a tennis senior citizen.

I was more of a Roger Federer guy growing up. Tennis was my best sport in high school, and as far as I recall, every time I attacked the net or hit a drop shot, I pictured Roger’s effortless flick of the wrist, his graceful leaps across the service box into flawless volleys. I admired Rafael Nadal’s grit and athleticism, but Federer was my platonic ideal of a tennis player.

And then along came Djokovic. I was fascinated by the fiery Serbian; I admired his Gumby-esque flexibility and impeccable service return game, now regarded as the best in the history of the sport. He was a man of contrasting traits. While he kept an icon of the Virgin Mary in his tennis bag, his explosive temper on the court seemed to parallel the bombs that sounded in the distance when he practiced as a child in war-torn Serbia. He quickly rose to the rank of “best player in the world not named Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal” (poor Andy Murray). He’d take a match from those guys every now and then, but couldn’t consistently beat them.

What changed? To anyone who watches tennis, it’s simple: he learned from their greatness. Novak’s insatiable competitiveness had carried him to great heights, but too often he swerved into temper tantrums or on-court meltdowns. I’m convinced that playing Federer and Nadal enough times hammered home the importance of their shared trait – steadiness. And so, Djokovic mastered his emotions. He is now so calm that even during the Covid-19 saga where he bravely refused to bow to vaccine mandates and was lambasted in the media for it, he never got heated, never got petty. He stayed calm.

It was hard for me to watch Djokovic beat Federer. Their legendary 2019 Wimbledon match was the greatest tennis match I’ve ever seen, along with the 2008 Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal. In 2019, Federer, at 37, looked like the champion of old. Against any other opponent that night, he would have triumphed through skill and savvy. But Djokovic was unflappable. As Djokovic closed it out in a fifth-set tiebreaker, it was clear to all watching that Federer’s era was officially over.

Time marches onward.

Now, 38-year-old Djokovic is the best player in the world not named Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner. To see Djokovic gingerly pace the baseline as the grizzled veteran, while Roger Federer looks on from the Royal box, dressed in a double-breasted suit next to his wife, is Shakespearean. All “have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts…” Alcaraz learned from Djokovic, who learned from Federer, who learned from Sampras. If Alcaraz or Sinner wins this iconic tournament, we can confidently say that the Djokovic era is officially over.

Watching an athlete in decline feels like a little death; we watched these men and women throughout their careers and, now that they’re done, a part of ourselves is done, too. That era of our lives is over. The ones who rage against the dying light and try to stay in the limelight far past their prime often mar their legacies; I’m thinking of Michael Jordan’s Wizards era, Muhammad Ali’s post-Frazier fights, the fact that Madonna is still touring, and of course recent politicians who will go unnamed.

Djokovic, in contrast, appears to have a mature outlook on his past and his future. He watched Federer’s classy exit and seems comfortable reflecting on the impact he’s had on the sport and how his legacy will live on in players like Alcaraz and Sinner. Sports give lessons for life – let’s savor this masterclass from Novak Djokovic while it lasts.

(The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Aging with Dignity and/or its Board of Directors.)