Like a fine gluten-free wine, Novak Djokovic seems to only get better with age

WATCH: Djokovic gifts racquet to young fan after winning Wimbledon

In tennis, where players are not signed to contracts that offer a guaranteed salary for many years, longevity often hinged on economics. Lengthy careers were primarily earned by those successful enough to sustain life as a solo act. Injuries and burnout also weeded out older players, regardless of their rankings.

But over the last 20 years, compensation has grown significantly—and with that has come opportunities for players to better care for themselves on all fronts, and subsequently stay on tour far longer than once imagined. Many still hold hopes of winning major titles; others soldier on, relishing the chance to earn a living from a sport where, no matter what your age or stage, you must play every minute.

One athlete who exemplifies this perhaps more than any other: Novak Djokovic.

We don’t know where the intelligence-gathering team is located. But maybe, in some corner of the world, armed with video, data, an AI program and perhaps even a few robotic contraptions, there are men and women trying to solve a problem no one in tennis has answered: How do you consistently beat Djokovic? John Wooden, the legendary college basketball coach, had a pet saying: “If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.” No one better than you prepare to fail.” No one better than Djokovic personifies that concept.Djokovic personifies that concept.

For four years early in his career, Djokovic was world No. 3—close to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, but not when it came to consistently toppling those titans on the court. Everything changed in 2011, when a revamped Djokovic began his grand ascent, after proudly leading Serbia to its first Davis Cup. His rise was aided greatly by changes in diet, fitness and attitude. Since then, a relentless push towards improvement—be it with his serve and forehand, or coaching additions such as Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic, and, in 2018, summoning longstanding coach Marian Vajda back to Team Novak after a brief split.

Through his engagement with so many disciplines, Djokovic has both broadened and deepened the scope of what it means to be a professional tennis player. The seeds for this were planted in his childhood. Jelena Gencic, Djokovic’s formative coach, drilled the Serbian not just in technical fundamentals, but in broader ideas related to psychology, art, literature and music. At 34, exquisitely fit and ambitious, the Djokovic Express—now carrying 20 Grand Slam titles, equaling those titans—shows no signs of slowing.