Novak Djokovic: Stefan Edberg and Billie Jean King on Serb’s 2025
Novak Djokovic celebrates victory at the China Open in October 2024.
Image caption, Novak Djokovic did not win a Grand Slam title in 2024 – the first time in seven years
Novak Djokovic is now older than the winner of any Grand Slam singles title in 57 years of Open era tennis.
Four months shy of his 38th birthday, Djokovic will spend January trying to win an 11th Australian Open title.
It would be a 25th Grand Slam title – more than anyone in history. Margaret Court’s record is effectively the only one he has left to break.
“You can never count him out if everything goes right,” six-time Grand Slam champion Stefan Edberg told BBC Sport.
“My personal view is his best chance is the Australian Open or possibly Wimbledon, with all the experience he has on grass.
“Everything needs to go for him – he’s a year older and hasn’t played so many matches over the last six months.”
‘He is 37 – you have to be reasonable’
Last season was the first year since 2017 that Djokovic did not win a major title. He also did not win an ATP title for the first time since 2005.
But he did clinch Olympic gold with a phenomenal win over Carlos Alcaraz in the final in Paris. That came just two months after knee surgery and three weeks after a chastening loss to the Spaniard in the Wimbledon final.
Olympic gold had been the only prize missing from Djokovic’s collection. It was his target for the year, and the target was duly achieved.
“My one question to Djokovic would be ‘if you only had one thing you could win in 2025, what would it be?'” Billie Jean King said to the BBC in November – an echo of the strategy that served the Serb so well in 2024.
“Then I would have him narrow down his focus to that. Everything else doesn’t matter.
“You’ve got to be reasonable – he is 37.”
Novak Djokovic congratulates Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Australian Open – Sinner beat defending champion Djokovic in the semi-finals
Image caption, Novak Djokovic (left) has lost four of his past five matches against world number one Jannik Sinner
But you just cannot get away from Djokovic’s age.
The great Australian Ken Rosewall won the last of his eight Grand Slam singles titles at the 1972 Australian Open, having turned 37 two months earlier.
He remains the oldest winner of a major singles title in the Open era. Djokovic is already six months older than Rosewall was then, and the game is now more physically demanding.
Rafael Nadal won his final Grand Slam title two days after his 36th birthday, while Roger Federer was also 36 when he won his final major in Melbourne.
History is against Djokovic, but that has not stopped him in the past. By way of encouragement, remember that Federer had two championship points to beat Djokovic in the 2019 Wimbledon final, which took place a month before the Swiss’ 38th birthday.
Djokovic has suggested he will play more tournaments this year, which should help. He was beaten by Reilly Opelka in the Brisbane International quarter-finals but had five matches in all, including a couple of doubles appearances alongside Nick Kyrgios.
‘Chasing records is motivation enough’
Jannik Sinner is 23, and Alcaraz 21. That is a lot of years to concede when your opponents are as good as they are.
But Grand Slam titles have regularly been won by great players in their mid-thirties over the past decade, and Edberg has played his part.
The Swede was part of Roger Federer’s coaching team in 2014 and 2015, and is sure Djokovic’s fire still burns brightly.
“These guys have a lot of people around them and they just love being out there. Especially with Novak chasing a lot of records, I think that’s motivation enough,” he said.
“He’s still extremely fit, so that’s going to give him at least a chance, even if it’s going to be really difficult this time round.”
What is clear when speaking to Edberg is how the top players now feel no psychological barrier to winning in their thirties. While the length of the season remains brutal, he says smarter scheduling helps.
“If I look back on my own career, I think what in many ways burnt me out was playing Davis Cup,” he explained.
“We went to six Davis Cup finals in a row – it meant playing until December and then starting the season again.
“That really shortened my career when I look back at it. Physically, I could have played for another five years.
“At the time I was playing, the chance of winning Slams at 30 or 31 was very, very poor. That has changed now.”
Edberg retired in December 1996 aged 30, after yet another appearance in a Davis Cup final.
Murray addition ‘will create some inspiration’
Novak Djokovic plays a backhand while practising at Melbourne Park with Andy Murray watching behind him
Image caption, Djokovic practised at Melbourne Park on Tuesday with Murray overseeing the session
Djokovic has already played his wildcard for 2025.
Enter coach Andy Murray, who retired less than six months ago and faced the Serb in seven Grand Slam finals. Equally unusually for a coaching partnership, they are just seven days apart in age.
Djokovic said in November he asked Murray to work with him “because I still have big plans”, and Edberg believes the Scot offers a deep knowledge of opponents, inspiration and motivation.
“You had former number one players coaching in the past – Ivan Lendl and Boris Becker are two other examples – but we’d all been retired for a number of years,” Edberg said.
“Murray basically goes straight off the tour so he has all the knowledge of the players who play today.
“But most of all for Novak I think it’s to create some inspiration, some motivation going forward.
“Small things can make a difference, whether it’s tactically, mentally, preparing for a match or doing things in your free time.”
Djokovic is a showman. He likes making headlines, enjoys the attention and Murray’s presence will add an even greater frisson to his matches.
And it is just one of the reasons why, even at 37, Edberg is so right to say you just cannot count him out.
