(Melbourne) Novak Djokovic can still joke when he talks about the rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner which, for two years, has prevented him from becoming the most successful tennis player of all time.

“I lost three of the four Grand Slam tournaments against Sinner or Alcaraz in 2025,” he recalled on Saturday, on the eve of the first matches of the Australian Open.

“We don’t need to congratulate them too much,” he added with a smile. “They have already been praised enough! We know how good they are, and they absolutely deserve to be where they are. They are currently the dominant forces in men’s tennis. »

Djokovic begins third season in pursuit of 25e Grand Slam singles title and refined his approach for the Australian Open.

He withdrew from the only preparatory tournament in which he had planned to participate, knowing that he lacks “a little juice in his legs” to compete with the two young stars at the end of the major tournaments and that he must remain as pain-free as possible.

PHOTO MARTIN KEEP, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Novak Djokovic

Djokovic found a way to beat longtime rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, to the point where the Serbian, now 38, has become an integral part of the “Big Three.” Then he surpassed them.

Winner of 24 major singles tournaments, a record in the professional era, and tied with Australian Margaret Court for the most singles victories in tennis history, Djokovic does everything to stay “in the fight”.

Djokovic won his last major title at the 2023 US Open. Since then, Sinner and Alcaraz have shared eight major singles titles.

Sinner has won the last two Australian titles. Alcaraz is in Australia, determined to add the Melbourne Park title to his tally to complete his career Grand Slam.

Despite injuries that hampered him, Djokovic reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments last year. A torn hamstring forced him to retire in the semifinals of the Australian Open, after he eliminated Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.


PHOTO DAVID GRAY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Novak Djokovic

Reminding himself that “24 is not a bad number,” Djokovic explained that he decided to abandon his “now or never mentality” when attending Grand Slam tournaments because it did not allow him to perform at his best.

Right now, [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz play at a different level than everyone else. That’s a fact, but that doesn’t mean no one else has a chance.

Novak Djokovic

“So I always like my chances, in any tournament, especially here,” he added.

Ten-time Australian Open singles champion, Djokovic will play his first match Monday evening at Rod-Laver Arena against Spaniard Pedro Martinez, ranked 71e.

Seeded number 4, he is in the same half of the table as Sinner. This means they can only meet in the semi-finals here.

Physical condition

Djokovic has not played an official tournament since November.

“It’s obviously taken me longer to rebuild my body, because I understand that in the last two years, that’s what’s changed the most for me: it takes me more time to rebuild, and it also takes me more time to reset or recover,” he explained. “I had a little setback that prevented me from competing in the Adelaide tournament… but so far everything is going really well here. »

He added that he felt pain “here and there” every day.

“But overall I feel good and I’m looking forward to playing.” »