A tennis wonderkid has told Novak Djokovic not to copy Rafael Nadal.

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic has been told to prolong his career by Justin Engel (Image: Getty)

Tennis wonderkid Justin Engel has pleaded with Novak Djokovic to avoid retirement for the time being. The German recently followed in the footsteps of Carlos Alcaraz by becoming an extremely young winner on the ATP Tour and he wants to face idol Djokovic before the tennis icon bows out of the sport.

Engel became the first player born in 2007 to win a match on the ATP Tour. He faced Coleman Wong as a wildcard at the Almaty Open, winning 7-5 6-4.

Having recently turned 17, Engel is now setting his sights higher up the rankings. His role model is Djokovic and he harbours hopes of facing the 37-year-old in a competitive match.

“I hope he doesn’t retire like Rafa!” Engel told tennis.com. “I hope he’s still playing when I’m playing. It would be so nice.”

Engel has been attempting to copy Djokovic’s lifestyle to ensure he reaches the top of the sport.

He revealed: “I bought his book about what he eats and everything, so I also wanted to do like he does.

Asked if he had come close to matching Djokovic’s incredible fitness regime, Engel quipped: “Not close. I try my best, but I mean it’s pretty hard. I don’t eat so much sugar, almost nothing. But there’s also a lot of other things that I need to eat.”

Engel’s journey to the ATP Tour was unlike many other players. He was initially set on a career in kickboxing but decided against turning professional, citing the dangers posed to competitors.

Justin Engel

Justin Engel, 17, is a huge fan of Novak Djokovic (Image: Tennis TV)

His father, Horst, is a former tennis player who quit at 17. He turned to coaching and guided ex-WTA ace Anca Barna into the world’s top 50 in 2004. Horst has made a big impact on his son’s career.

“So that’s why I’m playing tennis now because my father thought, ‘Come on, now I have a kid, let’s try this again,’” Engel said of his dad’s involvement.

“I also did kickboxing, was very good at it. I almost did it professionally but it was too dangerous for my tennis and so I stopped it.”

Engel will hope to emulate some of the other young stars making names for themselves at the top of the ATP rankings. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, 21 and 23 respectively, have taken on the mantle passed on by the Big Three of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.