Novak Djokovic has won the Australian Open a record 10 times, a number that his latest rivals — Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner — will find difficult to match up to. Just as they still have a long way to go to catch up with the Serb’s 24 grand slam titles.
But when the first grand slam of the year starts on Sunday, Djokovic will have to contend with the ‘Sincaraz’ tide, and he knows it will not be an easy task.
In fact, this time around, he is not really being considered as the title favourite. Alcaraz and Sinner, the two top-ranked players in the world, having taken over that position.
Age and fitness are two elements that are not really on Djokovic’s side and the past three years have seen the much younger duo taking charge and dominating the game.
The Serb clinched his 24th major title at the US Open in 2023, but since then, Sinner and Alcaraz, with a brand of fast-paced tennis, have blown their rivals off the court.
Djokovic, who will be 39 in May, is not immune to the physical toll more than two decades on the tour has taken on his body. But it would not be wise to write off one of the mentally toughest players. And he would surely be keen to snatch the 25th title that would break the tie that he has with Margaret Court and establish him as the player with the highest number of grand slam titles.
Last year, Djokovic, the last of the Big Three still in action, beat Alcaraz in the quarter-finals only to retire from his semi-final against Alex Zverev with a hamstring tear.
He reached the semi-finals of all four majors in 2025, losing to Sinner in Paris and at Wimbledon, and to Alcaraz in New York.
“I lost three out of four slams in semis against these guys, so they’re just too good, playing on a really high level,” he said after his loss at Flushing Meadows. “Best-of-five makes it very, very difficult for me to play them. Particularly if it’s like the end stages of a grand slam.”
Djokovic’s chances of going deep into the tournament will depend on how his battered body holds up. He withdrew from the Adelaide International on January 6, saying he was “not quite physically ready”.
He managed ATP titles in Geneva and Athens last year to take his tally to 101, but his best efforts at the longer Masters events were a Miami final and a semi-final finish
in Shanghai.
It will be his 21st appearance in the main draw at the Australian Open, a run that started as a qualifier in 2005, when he was thumped by eventual champion Marat Safin.
Melbourne’s large community of fans with Serbian heritage will ensure he has plenty of support at a tournament where he has otherwise been more admired than loved. With Reuters inputs