Ex-ATP Pro Writes Off Novak Djokovic’s Chances of Winning 25th Grand Slam Title: “Nobody Can Beat Nature”

Novak Djokovic has reached the last stage of his career, and at the moment, his body is not supporting him the way it did when he was in his 20s. Fitness problems have been stopping him from giving his all in the latter stages of Grand Slam events.

This year, Nole made the semifinals of every Major. He suffered a hamstring injury at the Australian Open and ended up withdrawing from the semifinal match against Alexander Zverev after losing the first set.

Apart from his body, two players are also stopping him from adding one more Major to his trophy cabinet. They are Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the top two players, both of whom knocked out the 38-year-old in the remaining three Grand Slam events. Sinner beat him at the French Open and Wimbledon, while Alcaraz went past him at the US Open.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov thinks even the 24-time Grand Slam champion cannot beat nature. The Russian former ATP player can’t foresee Djokovic winning another Major.

Honestly, I doubt he can do it. He’s the greatest player of all time, without a doubt, but competing with these young guys… Novak isn’t even 35 anymore, he’s 39 (in May). Believe me, your body and metabolism don’t allow you to recover quickly enough or move like a young player. Nobody can beat nature. A 39-year-old player is simply too old to compete with a 22-year-old in his physical prime. He can still compete in best-of-three-set tournaments, but best-of-five… that’s practically impossible.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov told CLAY

At the Australian Open next year, Djokovic, apart from his 25th Major, will also be chasing his 11th title in the tournament. The last time he won a Major was at the 2023 US Open.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov on what motivates Novak Djokovic to keep playing

Novak Djokovic doesn’t want to hang up his racket before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. What still drives him to keep prolonging his career? Yevgeny Kafelnikov, during the aforementioned interview with CLAY, explained what could be the possible reasons the Serb doesn’t want to hang up his racket.

Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve said it before: maybe he feels too loyal to his fan base around the world, to the people who want him to keep going. And that’s fine. My respect to Novak for that. It shows his courage and dedication. But I really can’t think of any other reason why he’s still playing.

Djokovic wants to once again experience the feelings of winning the Olympic gold medal. He won his career’s first gold medal at last year’s Paris Olympics by defeating Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets. For him, that win was his career’s biggest achievement.

This season, Djokovic reached three finals, winning two titles. He lost to Jakub Mensik at the Miami Open but won the Geneva Open and the Hellenic Championship by defeating Hubert Hurkacz and Lorenzo Musetti, respectively.

He finished the season in the fourth spot on the rankings table, with a 39-11 win-loss record. Djokovic, for the second consecutive time, missed the ATP Finals.

While this year an injury forced him to withdraw from the semifinal, last year, eventual champion Jannik Sinner eliminated him in the last four. The last time Djokovic won the Australian Open was in 2023, by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Since winning his 24th Major, the only time he made a Grand Slam final was at the 2024 Wimbledon, where Carlos Alcaraz claimed a straight-set win. Alcaraz and Sinner have split the last eight Majors, and next year, while the former will be chasing the Career Grand Slam, the latter will aim for the three-peat and join Djokovic.

Also read: Former WTA Player Unconvinced of Other Players Challenging Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner