How has Novak Djokovic managed to stay at the top of tennis for so long?
The Serbian turns 38 in May and won his first Grand Slam singles title over 17 years ago, yet remains inside the top five of the ATP Rankings – and won Olympic gold for the first time last summer.
Djokovic’s longevity has been remarkable, and his Grand Slam success in recent years has been unparalleled.
Though he did not win a major title in 2024 – and had to retire injured at the Australian Open this January – Djokovic has boosted his major title collection significantly across the past decade.
In fact, the former world No 1 has won 12 of his 24 Grand Slam titles – exactly half – since turning 30 in May 2017.
Djokovic’s success since his 30th birthday has been highlighted by four Australian Open titles and four consecutive Wimbledon titles, also claiming two French Open and two US Open titles since then.
The Serbian went 27-1 in Grand Slam matches in 2023 – the year he turned 36 – and was also one win away from the Calendar Grand Slam as a 34-year-old back in 2021.
Earlier in his career, Djokovic’s success was down to his intense movement and physicality, and his ability to stick in rallies as long as required to wear his opponent down.
However, one former opponent believes a change from that approach is key to his late-career dominance.
Former world No 6 Gilles Simon knows all too well about the challenge of facing Djokovic, having lost 11 of his 12 meetings to the 24-time Grand Slam winner.
And, the Frenchman, who retired in 2022, has noted what he believes to be a “logical” change in Djokovic’s game.
Speaking to Tennis365, Simon revealed how Djokovic has adapted to not only play more aggressively, but also manage his physicality across a match.
“It’s a very logical way,” said Simon.
“He’s serving better and better, because he needs more free points than before. He’s less capable of holding his level playing full intensity, every point from the baseline for four or five sets, what he was doing before with Rafa [Nadal] – we all watched it.
“It has already been a few years [now] where he can only play that level for one hour and a half and sometimes one set, or some moments in the match.
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“Even when he won the French Open or Wimbledon, there is one set where he is not playing it, because he needs to recover – something he would never do before. Before he was full gas, first to last point.
“That’s logical, and it’s changing also the way he plays. Instead of long rallies, maybe he’s going to go for a short point.
“He’s improving his serve to get more points there, sometimes he’s going to be a bit more aggressive at some moments, because he cannot run through the same rallies.”
Djokovic is the only man older than 30 currently inside the top 10 of the ATP Rankings, and one of just two men inside the top 30 – the other being 33-year-old Grigor Dimitrov.
Despite having missed out at the last five Grand Slam tournaments, Simon believes the “smart” tennis icon will remain a threat.
He added: “The choices he is making sometimes are different because he has to know how to handle this energy and regulate it, to play the five sets.
“That’s where the logic is different. It’s no longer: ‘No matter what happened, I will go full power first to last point’.
“He’s really smart, he understands everything, he’s super good obviously.
“He understands now how his body is responding and where the limit is, and where he has to change the choice and be a bit more aggressive to have shorter points in some moments, to hold the whole match.”
Simon was speaking in his role as an ambassador and team captain for the 2025 Roland-Garros eSeries by Renault.
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The post Exclusive: Novak Djokovic’s former rival reveals ‘logical way’ tennis legend has evolved his game appeared first on Tennis365.
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