Novak Djokovic has admitted he is ‘p****d off’ at losing his World No.1 ranking earlier this week, alluding to his desire to continue in the sport for a long time to come.
The Serbian, 34, spent 275 weeks at the top of the ATP men’s singles rankings from 2010-2019, a huge 116 ahead of nearest competitor Rafael Nadal.
He has also been top of the rankings for 86 of the 91 weeks possible since January 2020, with Nadal making up four of the last five.
But Daniil Medvedev’s recent performances have seen him overtake Djokovic to become the world’s best for the first time in his career.
And Djokovic let his anger known in a press conference on Thursday.
“My goal is to keep on playing tennis,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference.
“That’s the ultimate goal. For as long as I really feel like it and as long as I can play.
“As long as my body allows me, as long as the circumstances in my life as well, the people that surround me [and] support me.
“I’m still motivated and I’m still pissed off when I lose a match. I care about it.
“I care about winning every match, as anybody else on the Tour, regardless of the age.
“I’m actually glad that I’m feeling a lot of emotions every single day because it means that I really want to be part of this sport, part of the Tour.”
Djokovic lost 6-4, 7-6 in a shock straight set defeat to Czech star Jiri Vesely at the Dubai Tennis Championship earlier on Thursday.
The Serb was favourite to qualify for the semi-final, although he hasn’t beaten the Pribram-born star in his career.
Yet the loss sees Djokovic exit the tournament early in what was his first competition of the calendar year.
His next outing will see him aim to regain the spot.