Novak Djokovic’s hopes of winning a 25th Grand Slam title have been written off by tennis legend John McEnroe, but former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has offered up an alternative verdict.
Djokovic reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams in 2025, but came up short in his battles against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
That inspired McEnroe to suggest the player who has won more major titles than anyone else in the history of the men’s game will not add to his collection so long as he has to beat Alcaraz and Sinner to get over the winning line.
Speaking to TNT Sports, McEnroe proclaimed that he does not think Djokovic possesses the belief that he can overcome both Alcaraz and Sinner at a Grand Slam.
“In his heart of hearts and in my opinion, no,” said the former world No 1.
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“I don’t think he can beat both of those guys when he has already had to go through five matches — that’s the problem. That’s the reality he has talked about.
“A lot of people might think, ‘Why are you still going at this point, you haven’t won in a couple of years and you are so used to winning?’ Why not would be the question?
“In my book, he is No 3 in the world. He made four semis last year and beat Alcaraz here. He must think he can still win this otherwise, because he won’t play unless he thinks he can win, which is tougher because he doesn’t play much.”
That judgement will be shared by many in the game, but Rusedski insisted writing off a player who has broken almost every record in tennis is a big gamble.
“I thought it was really interesting to hear McEnroe’s comments that he doesn’t feel Novak can beat Alcaraz and Sinner back-to-back,” said Rusedski on an episode of his Off Court Cuts podcast.
“We all feel that, but boy was he good in his opening round and let’s look at one statistic. 100 wins Down Under in Australia and he has done that in three of the four Slams.
“The only one he hasn’t done it is in the US Open. 400 wins at majors! Most people don’t do that on all of the tournaments they play. Don’t discount Novak if he can move through the rounds easily.
“Everyone was talking about his neck being a little bit sore and asking whether he would be healthy enough, but he knows how to manage his body. That’s why he’s the GOAT.
“At the age of 38, he’s playing better than 97 or 98 of the players in the top 100 in the world. It was an impressive opener and he saved a lot of energy.
“With Novak, he’s talking big. He’s had an incredible record down in Australia, so don’t ever discount a great legend.”
Djokovic’s polished performance in his first round win against Pedro Martinez suggested his pre-tournament injury concerns are not pressing right now, but he will face bigger hurdles en-route to a possible semi-final showdown against Sinner.
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