Novak Djokovic has admitted he is ‘p****d off’ at losing his World No 1 ranking following his defeat to Jiri Vesely on Thursday. The Serbian tennis superstar lost in straight sets and even alluded to his future in the sport following the defeat.
Djokovic has spent a record total of 361 weeks as world No 1, surpassing the figure set by Roger Federer by a huge margin.
He has dominated the ATP Tour since regaining the No 1 spot in January 2020, but his absence from the Australian Open put his place on top in doubt.
And defeat to Vesely, along with Daniil Medvedev’s run in Acapulco means there is a new world No 1 in the men’s rankings.
Djokovic admitted to being “p****ed off” at losing in Dubai, but added that his anger is proof that he still has many more years left in the game.
“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 qualifer Vesely having made his comeback this week.
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.
Djokovic is expected to be back in action at Indian Wells next month.
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