{"id":1832489,"date":"2026-03-18T12:30:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T09:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1832489"},"modified":"2026-03-18T12:30:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T09:30:54","slug":"novak-djokovic-critics-told-they-should-stop-telling-tennis-great-he-should-quit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1832489","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic critics told they should stop telling tennis great &#8216;he should quit&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Novak Djokovic critics told they should stop telling tennis great \u2018he should quit\u2019<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/shahidaj\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Shahida Jacobs                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"18 Mar 2026 12:30 PM\" data-ps-date=\"18 Mar 2026 12:30 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1773837054\"><br \/>\n                            18 Mar 2026 12:30 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            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<\/div>\n<div class=\"sm:hidden flex items-center space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Novak Djokovic critics told they should stop telling tennis great \u2018he should quit\u2019\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Novak-Djokovic-with-inset-of-Jimmy-Connors-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Novak Djokovic with inset of Jimmy Connors\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Novak Djokovic with inset of Jimmy Connors                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>Novak Djokovic\u2019s detractors have been told they have no right to tell the tennis great it is time to retire with former world No 1 Jimmy Connors saying \u201che doesn\u2019t have to please anybody\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The 24-time Grand Slam winner has played only two tournaments so far in 2026, reaching the final of the Australian Open before losing against Carlos Alcaraz in four sets, while he was beaten in a gruelling round of 16 match by Jack Draper at the Indian Wells Open.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/novak-djokovic\">Djokovic<\/a> initially signed up for the Miami Open, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/novak-djokovic-ranking-slide-injury-setback\">he withdrew from the ATP Masters 1000 event<\/a> due to a shoulder injury and it remains to be seen when he will next feature on the ATP Tour as he has insisted he will only play a handful of events every year.<\/p>\n<p>Some, of course, are upset that he is picking and choosing his events as they believe the time is right for him to retire, especially with the likes of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner now the leaders of men\u2019s tennis.<\/p>\n<h2>Novak Djokovic News<\/h2>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/andy-roddick-annoyed-reaction-novak-djokovic-miami-open-withdrawal\">Andy Roddick \u2018annoyed\u2019 by reaction to Novak Djokovic\u2019s Miami Open withdrawal <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/novak-djokovic-miami-open-2026-withdrawal-martina-navratilova\">Novak Djokovic\u2019s Miami Open withdrawal leaves Martina Navratilova concerned for one reason<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, fellow Grand Slam-winning great Connors has hit back, saying on The Advantage Connors podcast: \u201cI like rooting for Novak [but] it catches up with everybody, getting older, recuperating not as fast and it wears on you mentally a little bit more when you have those long matches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he works on it on a daily basis and I think we talked about this before, he takes care of himself, he eats the right food, he gets in a chamber, he does whatever he can to keep his fitness and do whatever he needs to do to play at that level.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd here is another thing I don\u2019t like. I don\u2019t like people going round saying \u2018he should quit\u2019. There is only one guy who is going to tell me that he\u2019s going to quit, and that\u2019s him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t take away something that somebody loves so much. The way that he has played, his record shows it, how much he enjoys doing what he is doing, and still trying to be at the level that satisfies him. I think that is more the key.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think he has to please anybody. He does not have to please me; I\u2019m a spectator.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has to please himself, and if he walks out of there and feels like he has done everything that he can, which he does, and it seems like he does every day, you cannot ask for any more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Novak Djokovic critics told they should stop telling tennis great \u2018he should quit\u2019 Shahida Jacobs 18 Mar 2026 12:30 PM Novak Djokovic with inset of Jimmy Connors Novak Djokovic\u2019s detractors have been told they have no right to tell the tennis great it is time to retire with former world No 1 Jimmy Connors saying [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1832489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1832489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832489\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1832489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1832489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1832489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}