"Father time is undefeated" - John McEnroe delivers grim verdict on Novak Djokovic after Wimbledon loss to Jannik Sinner

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Novak Djokovic's journey at the 2025 Wimbledon recently came to an end in the semi-finals; however, his determination was lauded by the retired American tennis player John McEnroe. Along with this, the latter also spoke about the inevitable effect of aging.

Djokovic was last seen in action on July 11, where he competed against Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals on the Centre Court. The Italian stunned the Serb in three straight sets of 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, ending the latter's quest to earn his 25th Grand Slam title. Sinner finished the game in just an hour and 55 minutes, and since 2017, it will be the first time that the Wimbledon final will not feature Djokovic.

Shortly after this match, McEnroe spoke about Novak Djokovic's passion and determination. In an interview with TNT Sports, he said that despite his dedication toward the sport, 'Father Time is undefeated'. However, he also commended him for coming this far in the tournament.

"He's finally joined the crowd of older champions that realise the best is behind them and then they have to deal with that unfortunate fact. "I don't know how much of it was an injury or accumulation of difficult matches, but father time is undefeated. Honestly, it's been amazing he's got this far. Crazy. Phenomenal. Beyond belief," said John McEnroe.

Along with this, McEnroe also discussed the Serb's future, saying:

"Novak will have a lot of thinking to do over the next month or so. Does he think it was because he was injured, or is his body beat up?"

Novak Djokovic opened up about his injury struggles after the Wimbledon loss

Following his upset against Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic made his feelings known about the injury issues that he has been dealing with. He sustained an injury after a fall in the quarterfinals match against Flavio Cobolli at the All England Club.

In the semi-final clash at Wimbledon, the 38-year-old needed a medical timeout at the end of the second set. After the game, he talked about how he felt physically compromised.

“Quite a bit. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling on the court. But I don’t want to talk about in details of my injury and whine about not managing to play my best," said Novak Djokovic.

He further opened up about how much time he spent on taking care of his body and extended gratitude toward the wins that he bagged in the tournaments.

“The amount of hours I spend on a daily basis to take care of myself, I’d like to challenge everyone out there who’s on tour to see if anyone takes care of themselves more than me. And I unfortunately don’t get rewarded for that right now, with injuries at the later stages of Slams. But I was rewarded for many, many years. So I might see it right now as misfortune. But I’ve gotten so much from God and from the life in my career that it would be a disservice from me to God and to my body and everything I had in my career to start complaining about injuries.”

Novak Djokovic's Australian Open campaign was also hampered due to his injury, and he was forced to withdraw midway through the semi-finals, citing a muscle tear.

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Nancy Singh

An English Honors graduate, Nancy is a journalist at Sportskeeda covering US Olympic sports. She has a total experience of 4 years, having previously worked as a Marketing Executive for BYJU’S before finding her footing at SK.

To deliver the best content, Nancy keeps herself updated by reading as much as possible about the athletes and the sport, and believes that researching and trusting credible sources is the key to reporting ethical and accurate information.

Track and Field events particularly interest Nancy, and she is a fan of Allyson Felix. While she cherished each of her victories, her favorite Olympic moment happens to be the retired athlete’s 10th medal at the Games.

Nancy believes that covering the personal lives and training sessions of the Olympic athletes, and showcasing old podcasts or interviews would help bridge the coverage gap of the sport in its off season.

When away from her keyboard, Nancy spends most of her free time reading books. She also writes poems and plans on publishing a book.

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Edited by Anisha Chatterjee

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