MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic joked when talking about the rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner that for two years has prevented him from becoming the most successful tennis player in history.
“I lost three of the four Slams against Sinner or Alcaraz,” he said on Saturday, on the eve of the 2025 Australian Open.
“We don’t need to praise them too much,” he added, smiling. “They’ve been praised enough! We know how good they are, and they absolutely deserve to be where they are. They are the dominant forces in men’s tennis right now.”
Djokovic is entering a third season in search of his 25th Grand Slam singles title, and has refined his approach for the Australian Open.
He withdrew from his only scheduled warm-up tournament, knowing that he lacks “a little energy in his legs” to compete with two young stars at the end of big tournaments and that he has to stay as pain-free as possible.
Djokovic cracked the formula to beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the rivalry established before he transformed it into the “Big Three” and then bested them both.
Champion of 24 majors – a men’s record for the open era and tied with Margaret Court for the most in tennis history – the 38-year-old Serbian is doing everything he can to stay “in the fight.”
Djokovic last won a Slam at the 2023 US Open. Sinner and Alcaraz have shared the eight since then. Sinner has won the last two Australian titles. Alcaraz is in Australia determined to add the title at Melbourne Park to complete the collection of Slams.
Despite a string of injuries, Djokovic reached the semifinals in all four major tournaments last year. A hamstring tear forced him to abandon his Australian Open semi-final, having eliminated Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
Reminding himself that “24 is not a bad number either,” Djokovic said he is adopting a “now or never” mentality in each of his major appearances because it does not allow him to excel at his best.
“Sinner and Alcaraz are playing at a different level right now than everyone else. That’s a fact,” Djokovic said, “but that doesn’t mean anyone else has a chance.”
“So I always like my chances, in any tournament, particularly here,” he said.
The ten-time Australian Open champion will debut on Monday in a night match at Rod Laver Arena against 71st-ranked Spaniard Pedro Martínez. As the fourth seed, he was in the same half of the draw as Sinner. That means they could find themselves in the semi-finals here.
Physical condition
Djokovic has not played an official tournament since November.
“Obviously I took more time to recover physically, because I understand that in the last few years, that’s what has changed the most for me: it takes longer to recover, and it also takes longer to get (the season) going,” he said. “I had a little setback that prevented me from competing in the Adelaide tournament… but it’s been going very well so far here.”
He said there is “something here and there” every day in terms of aches and pains, “but overall I feel good and I look forward to competing.”
PTPA
Djokovic severed ties earlier this month with the Professional Tennis Players Association, a group he co-founded, saying “my values and approach are no longer aligned with the current direction of the organization.”
Djokovic and Canadian player Vasek Pospisil launched the PTPA in 2020, with the goal of offering representation to players who are independent contractors in a largely individual sport.
“It was a difficult decision for me to leave the PTPA, but I had to do it, because I felt like my name was… overused,” he said. “I felt like people, whenever they think of the PTPA, they think it’s my organization, which is a misconception from the beginning.”
He said he still supports the concept.
“I still wish them the best, because I think there is room and need for a 100% player-only representation organization in our ecosystem,” he said.
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