Novak Djokovic has revealed he came close to retiring from tennis in 2018, instructing his team to inform sponsors he was quitting the sport.
The Serbian star disclosed this during a recent interview with compatriot Slaven Bilic on 'Failure of the Champion'.
The 38-year-old, who now holds a record 24 Grand Slam titles, was ready to walk away after a string of defeats and injuries left him disillusioned with tennis.
At that point in his career, Djokovic had won just half of his current major titles and had recently split from coach Andre Agassi.
Novak Djokovic nearly quit tennis in 2018
ReutersHis 2018 troubles began with a surprise fourth-round defeat to Hyeon Chung at the Australian Open.
Following this setback, Djokovic underwent surgery on an elbow injury that had been troubling him since the previous year.
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Upon returning to action, his struggles continued with an upset loss to qualifier Taro Daniel at Indian Wells.
The final blow came with a second-round defeat to Benoit Paire at the Miami Masters.
This string of disappointing results proved to be the breaking point for Djokovic, who then gathered his team and wife Jelena to announce his intention to quit professional tennis.
Jelena Djokovic provided a detailed account of the emotional team meeting in a 2020 interview with journalist Graham Bensinger.
"After that match, he wanted to quit. He gathered all the members of his team and told them, 'You know what: I'm done, I'm quitting'," he said
"We cried and told him that he couldn't do it, that it wasn't the right time."
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Novak Djokovic had told his agent to tell his sponsors that he was 'done'
ReutersAccording to Jelena, Djokovic instructed his then-agent Edoardo Artaldi to notify sponsors, including Lacoste, about his decision.
"He said, 'Edoardo, you can speak with my sponsors. I want to be clear with them. I don't know if I'm stopping for six months, a year, or forever.'"
Despite his firm stance on retirement, it was his family who ultimately inspired Djokovic's return to tennis.
Jelena continued taking their children Stefan and Tara to the court daily during their Dominican Republic holiday.
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Reuters"On the third day, Novak arrived. He saw that we were having fun and that it wasn't a workout like what he had been used to for years," Jelena explained.
When Djokovic asked to play, she initially refused, teasing him that he had given up.
Eventually he served and felt good, returning daily before calling coach Marian Vajda to resume training. This decision proved transformative, as Djokovic went on to win 12 more Grand Slam titles.
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