Djokovic Australian Open Comeback: Can He Overcome Recent Struggles?

Will Novak Djokovic (39, world ranking 4th, Serbia) make a spectacular comeback at the Australian Open, the first major tennis tournament of the season?

Djokovic will participate in the Australian Open, which opens in Melbourne, Australia on the 18th. To retire or to make a comeback? Currently, Djokovic is at a critical crossroads. Born in 1987, Djokovic, a veteran, is a late bloomer who reached his prime in his 30s. As I passed my mid-30s, I rarely broke down. However, with time, injuries and setbacks inevitably came. In the end, in the last two years, he only got no results in the four major tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open). The most recent major championship is the 2023 US Open. There is no place to retreat anymore. If it collapses again, the ‘Djokovic era’ that lasted nearly 10 years will effectively end.

This year’s Australian Open is expected to be the biggest match of his tennis career. Djokovic, who has been pushed to the edge, is glad to see the Australian Open. He showed a particularly strong performance at the Australian Open. Won 10 times in the Australian Open alone. This is the record for the most wins in a competition. Between 2019 and 2023, the championship trophy was lifted every year except for 2022, when the team was unable to participate due to non-vaccination against COVID-19. Djokovic’s competitors are far juniors Carlos Alcaras (23, 1st place, Spain) and Jannik Sinner (25, 2nd place, Italy). Alcaras and Sinner are dividing the tennis world by winning four titles each in the four major tournaments over the past two years. Foreign media even created a new term, ‘Sincaras (Alcaras + Sinner)’, to refer to the match between the two players.

In 2024, Sinner won the Australian Open and US Open, and Alcaras won the French Open and Wimbledon. Also, last season, Sinner reached the top at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, while Alcaras won the French Open and the US Open. As recently as 2023, Djokovic swept the Australian Open, French Open, and US Open by himself. In just two years, two ‘Shinseongs’ have appeared. If Djokovic wins the Australian Open, he will set a record of 25 major wins. Currently, he is tied for the most wins in major singles with 24. Aside from Djokovic, Margaret Court (Australia), who played in the 1960s and 1970s, holds the record for winning the women’s singles 24 times. There is another record that Djokovic is challenging. If he, at 38 years and 8 months old, wins the Australian Open, he will break the record of 37 years and 2 months (1972 Australian Open, Ken Rosewall), the oldest person to win a men’s singles title in a major tournament since 1968.

If the higher-ranked player continues to win as a result of the draw held on the 15th, Sinner and Djokovic will meet in the semifinals, and Alcaras will face Alexander Zverev (3rd place, Germany) in the semifinals. Alcaras and Sinner are also challenging meaningful records. If Alcaras wins, he will achieve a ‘career grand slam’ by winning all four major tournaments. Alcaras conquered the US Open in 2022, Wimbledon in 2023, and the French Open in 2024. He did not do particularly well at the Australian Open, with his best performance being the quarterfinals in 2024 and 2025.

Since 1968, when professional players were allowed to participate in major tournaments, only four players have achieved the ‘Career Grand Slam’ in men’s singles: Andre Agassi (USA), Roger Federer (Switzerland), Rafael Nadal (Spain), and Djokovic. Sinner aims to win the Australian Open men’s singles title for the third consecutive year. The most recent example of three consecutive men’s singles wins at the Australian Open was achieved by Djokovic from 2019 to 2021. Meanwhile, this year’s Australian Open has a total prize money of 111.5 million Australian dollars and a singles winner’s prize of 4.15 million Australian dollars (about 4.06 billion won).

Pi Joo-young ([email protected])