Former world No 9 Andrea Petkovic has proclaimed that it is Novak Djokovic’s “destiny” to be “the third wheel” after Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner and Alcaraz have won the last seven Grand Slam titles between them, with the Italian securing four and the Spaniard claiming three.
Djokovic was the last man outside of Sinner and Alcaraz to win a major, having collected a record-extending 24th Slam at the 2023 US Open.
Since the start of 2024, Djokovic has reached the semi-finals at five of the seven Grand Slam tournaments, including all three in 2025.
Four of the 38-year-old Serbian’s six major defeats in this period have come against Sinner or Alcaraz (he pulled out of the 2024 French Open through injury).
Speaking on her and Boris Becker’s podcast, Petkovic compared Djokovic’s current status to the position he was in with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal early in his career.
“He was with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, and now he’s with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner,” said the German.
“I’m glad we have him, but he’s no longer a favourite. It was his initial destiny in tennis to be number three, then there were years when he was number one.
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“Now, towards the end of his career, it’s his destiny again to be the third wheel. What did he do wrong to be the third wheel again?
“It must be said that he played three Grand Slam semi-finals in 2025. He’s clearly better than the rest of the field in big matches. But against those two (Alcaraz and Sinner), it’s not enough.”
What else has Petkovic said about Djokovic?
In February, Petkovic weighed in on Djokovic after injury forced him retire in his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev after a quarter-final win against Alcaraz.
“I’m not worried about Novak, I thought he played so well at the Australian Open — that match against Carlos (Alcaraz),” Petkovic told Tennis Channel’s Inside-In podcast.
“Some people wanted to put this one on Carlos, I just thought he was outplayed by Novak. I didn’t think he (Alcaraz) played so badly and so I’m not worried about Novak at all in terms of tennis, just worried about his health and if he’s healthy, he will be fine.”
During the Australian Open in January, Petkovic marvelled at Djokovic’s performances and vowed never to doubt the former world No 1 again.
“Whoever doubts Novak’s tennis ever again, whether Novak’s 37 years old or 55 years old, should from this day forth be punished with perpetual silence. Yes, I’m talking about myself,” she wrote on her blog on Substack.
“It’s not that I ever doubted the quality of tennis necessarily, it’s just that I couldn’t quite believe he would be able to retain enough explosiveness to hang with the young guys.
“Novak still has it and I would argue for three matches (Machac, Lehecka and Alcaraz), he played better than ever.
“He was still the same consistent percentage player who never misses, but conscious of his age, he hit the ball bigger and changed directions more frequently, yet still undetectable for the opposing side.”
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