Novak Djokovic is keen on emulating American football legend Tom Brady by playing well past his 40th birthday, the 36-year-old Serbian shared on Tuesday.
Quarterback Brady featured in 23 seasons in the National Football League, clinching seven Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before finally bringing the curtain down at the age of 45 this year.
World number one Djokovic, who is gearing up for the 22nd season as a professional by playing an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz in Riyadh on Wednesday, also lauded Brady.
"Tom Brady is a great example of a champion in his sport and someone that has had such a great career and longevity," the 24-time Grand Slam champion told reporters in the Saudi capital.
"He has put a lot of hours and a lot of time into self-care, into recovery, into making sure that in a way every aspect of his body and mind is covered so that he can have a long-lasting, successful career.
"I know him personally and I learned a lot from him, from his example, and hopefully I can have a career that goes up to 40 or maybe even beyond - let's see."
At Roland Garros in June, Brady was seen in Djokovic's box to watch his friend bag the French Open, one of three Grand Slam trophies the Serbian clinched in 2023 along with the Australian and U.S. Open titles.
"I feel great in my own body right now and I've been playing some really high-quality tennis," Djokovic added.
"2023 was one of the best seasons I've had in my life and why stop while you're still playing great? So I'll keep going and take (each) year, one by one, and see how far I go."
Alcaraz defeated the Serbian in a thrilling clash, which lasted five sets, to win this year's other Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and Djokovic welcomed the rise of the 20-year-old Spaniard.
"Our era is coming to an end, but you have Alcaraz emerging which is great, and I was very happy that I had four very good matches with him this year," Djokovic said.
"Each match attracted a lot of attention, we had a lot of great highlights and it's good, it's good for our sport."
Djokovic is eyeing his 11th Australian Open title and he is preparing for it by representing his country in the United Cup in Perth and Sydney in the first week of the new year.
