Novak Djokovic addresses retirement chatter after Alcaraz thrashing with defiant 'Slam' pledge: 'Will be very difficult'

Novak Djokovic was ready to address the chatter around his retirement after the Serb suffered a straight-set defeat against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2025 US Open semifinal on Friday at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. This was Djokovic's first defeat to Alcaraz on a hard court in four meetings, as the Spaniard avenged his recent losses to the 38-year-old, at this year's Australian Open and the 2024 Paris Olympics, to stay well on course for his sixth career Slam.

Djokovic became the first man in history to lose four straight Grand Slam semifinals in a single calendar year. Three of those losses came against either Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, who has shared all the last seven Slams. He lost to Sinner in the French Open and Wimbledon.

Speaking to the media after the loss, which had instantly sparked rumours on his retirement, especially with the 24-time Grand Slam champion having suffered from varying physical struggles, including a shoulder concern in the semifinal against Alcaraz, Djokovic admitted that while the Sinner-Alcaraz hurdle might be "very difficult" to overcome, he wants to continue fighting for Majors in 2026.

"It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner and Alcaraz in BO5, I have better chance in best-of-three. I'm not giving up on Grand Slams in that regard. Having said that I'm going to continue fighting and trying to get to the finals, to fight for the trophy, at least, but it's going to be a very difficult task," he said.

Heading into the semifinal in New York, Djokovic was confident that he still has it in him to beat Sinner and Alcaraz, and was rather eager to "mess up the plans" with the duo having met in the last two finals, and were highly expected to repeat the script in the US Open. However, after the defeat, the former champion at the Flushing Meadows admitted that the current generation stars are "just too good."

He said: "I lost three out of four slams in semi-finals to the two of them, they're just too good. They're playing on a really high level. Unfortunately, I just ran out of gas after the second set. Think I had enough energy to keep up with his rhythm for two sets, after that I was gassed out."

Djokovic did have his moment in the match against Alcaraz, when he soared to a quick 3-0 lead at the start of the second set. However, he was unable to keep the second seed at bay as he instantly conceded the break. The Spaniard registered more unforced error than his opponent in that set, but stuck to his aggressive game play and held his nerves in the tie-break.

The Serb could barely keep up with Alcaraz in the third set, where he looked visibly tired. The 22-year-old finished with 30 unforced errors, as many as Djokovic, but won 84 per cent of his first serves, compared to the latter's 64.

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