Novak Djokovic: Wimbledon best chance at record 25th Slam - ESPN

WIMBLEDON, England — It's become part of Novak Djokovic's routine now, particularly at Grand Slam tournaments: He shows up and gets asked — at the start of the event, during the event, after the event or sometimes all three — whether this will be his final appearance there.

Happened again Saturday at Wimbledon, and his response was the same it tends to be, which essentially amounts to: Who can tell?

«Whether it could be my 'last dance,'» the 24-time major champion began, repeating the phrase used by the reporter who posed the question, «I'm not sure — as I'm not sure about Roland Garros or any other Slam that I play next.»

And then Djokovic continued, offering something of a mix of seemingly trying to quiet any talk about whether he truly is pondering retirement at age 38 while also being realistic about where things stand.

«My wish is to play for several more years. I would love to be healthy physically and also mentally motivated to keep on playing at the highest level,» he said. «That's the goal. But you never know at this stage.»

What Djokovic did concede is that the All England Club might offer the likeliest spot for him to gather one more Grand Slam singles title, which would allow him to raise his career haul to 25 — a number that no tennis player ever has reached.

«I would probably agree that Wimbledon could be the best chance, because of the results I had, because of how I feel, how I play in Wimbledon,» said Djokovic, who faces Alexandre Muller in the first round Tuesday. «Just getting that extra push mentally and motivation to perform the best tennis at the highest level.»

Djokovic has won seven championships at the grass-court major and come oh-so-close to making his total eight — the number Roger Federer