Novak Djokovic had another remarkable season in 2025, even though he once again came up short of the milestone that’s eluded him for years.
At 38, time isn’t on his side, and his path is made even tougher by the grip Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have on the men’s game.
They’re clearly the top two players in the world, and for Djokovic to break through both of them to win another major looks like an uphill battle.
Even so, nothing can take away from what he’s already accomplished. Betting against him has never been wise, given how often he’s proved people wrong before.
How Boris Becker worked with Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic had one of the most successful runs of his career while working with Boris Becker, who served as his coach from 2013 to 2016.
During that time, Djokovic captured six Grand Slam titles and 14 Masters 1000 trophies, though their split still came as a surprise given how well things had gone on court.
Speaking on the Tennis Channel’s Big T Podcast about coaching dynamics in tennis, Andrea Petkovic discussed how much things have changed over recent years and touched on what made Becker’s relationship with Djokovic unique.
“Every single player, whether he’s ranked one in the world or 15 or 35, is coming out with at least five people. That was never the case in my time,” Petkovic said. “And I retired three years ago, so I haven’t played, like, 20 years ago. This was three years ago.”
“I think even the top players — even somebody like Andy Roddick, even somebody like Roger Federer — they had a maximum three people with them.”
“Now every single one is travelling with an entourage of 25 people: brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and physios and nutritionists. And that is great because the prize money has risen in a way that they can afford to have a bigger entourage,” she continued.
“But it just complicates things in terms of player-coach relationship because that is a very close bond.”
The conversation came not long after Mark Petchey weighed in on how Juan Carlos Ferrero might be feeling following his split from Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic pulls out of Australian Open warm-up, raising concerns over fitness
The 2026 Australian Open might be Djokovic’s best shot at another major, especially with Sinner and Alcaraz holding a tight grip on the other three slams.
It’s a chance to catch them off-guard early in the year when they might still be shaking off the rust from the break.
And despite recent setbacks, Djokovic has always had success in Melbourne — no one’s won more titles there than he has.
Last year, he reached the semi-finals before retiring during his match against Alexander Zverev.
But pulling out of Adelaide ahead of this year’s tournament raises fresh concerns about whether his body can hold up through another two-week grind.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
