Vid: The day Novak Djokovic retired

In an interview with Graham Bensinger, Jelena Djokovic tells the story of the day husband Novak Djokovic quit the game.

It happened after a loss at the Miami Open in 2018 – a 6-3, 6-4 defeat at the hands of France’s Benoit Paire in his tournament opener.

“He just gathered all of us and said, “You know, guys, I’m done,” Jelena Djokovic said. He told Edoardo (agent Artaldi) he “could speak with all my sponsors. I want to be clear with them. I don’t know if I’m stopping for six months, a year, or forever. Just tell them if they feel like sticking around they can. If not, I’m happy.”

It lasted about 10 days.

About six weeks before the loss to Paire, Djokovic underwent what he described as a “small medical intervention” on the right elbow that had troubled him for more than a year and a half. He returned – likely too quickly – at Indian Wells just over a month later, and lost in the first round to Taro Daniel of Japan there.

To say the least, things worked out.

Bensinger, an American journalist, has interviewed Djokovic a lot during his career. Here are some other clips from this most recent meet-up with Djokovic and various family members.

There are even more of them here.