Novak Djokovic’s dreams of winning his 25th Grand Slam at the French were shattered after he fell to Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. Despite the defeat, the Serbian showed that he’s not ready to roll over into retirement just yet. After the loss, he revealed that he’s optimistic he will play better at the 2025 Wimbledon Championship.

Djokovic has won the Wimbledon Championship seven times in his career, tied with Roger Federer for the most title wins among men in the grass court major. Last year, Wimbledon was the only major event he reached the final, losing to Carlos Alcaraz in three sets. Also, he reached the final in 2023, losing to the Spaniard.

After reaching two consecutive finals, Djokovic now believes he can win his 25th Grand Slam title at the All England Club. The 38-year-old revealed to Sportklub after his loss to Sinner that he hopes to transition smoothly from clay to grass and that he loves playing at Wimbledon because it has a special charm:

I am always optimistic for Wimbledon. Grass is a surface that suits me quite well. Not only because the style of play suits me, but also because it has always been a dream for me. Every time I step on the grass there, I feel a special charm and privilege to be able to participate again.

The 2025 season has been patchy by Djokovic’s lofty standards. That led to questions about his stamina and motivation coming into the Roland Garros. Before that he parted ways with Andy Murray, indicating things were not functioning as they hoped. However, Djokovic had a good warm-up tournament in Geneva, winning his 100th tour-level title.

The 38-year-old opened his French Open account with four consecutive straight sets wins. It was in the quarter-finals against Alexander Zverev that he dropped a set but recovered excellently to prevail in three sets. His run ended in the semi-finals after losing to Sinner 4-6, 5-7, 6(3)-7 at the Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Novak Djokovic reveals what he will do before the 2025 Wimbledon Championship

Last year, Novak Djokovic left the Roland Garros injured after falling on several occasions during his fourth-round win against Francisco Cerundolo. After an MRI scan, the Serbian learnt that he had sustained a knee injury and that his chances of playing at the Wimbledon Championship were very slim.

Shockingly, he beat time and returned to the court at the All England Club. However, the injury forced him not to play in any warm-up tournament ahead of the 2024 Wimbledon Championship. During the aforementioned interview, he was asked whether he would play in any event ahead of the grass-court Grand Slam this time around. The Serb revealed he will be taking a break after an intense three weeks on tour:

Now I’m just thinking about taking a break, it was intense, I’ll take about a week to ten days. If I play as well as I usually do at Wimbledon, I think I have a better chance of winning on grass, the best of them, than on some faster concrete.

Djokovic transitioning from clay to grass will not be that difficult because of his over two decades of experience on tour. The Serbian legend has played 1,375 matches since turning professional in 2004. However, the end of his career is probably not far away, despite his efforts to win his 25th career Grand Slam, which will make him the player with the most major titles in the Open Era.