Novak Djokovic is set to embark on his latest attempt to win a 25th Grand Slam title at the US Open, but former world No 1 Mats Wilander admits he may need some assistance if he is to get over the line in New York.
Djokovic won the last of his record-breaking 24 Grand Slam titles at the 2023 US Open, as he drew level with women’s tennis great Margaret Court for the most major title wins.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have shared the seven Grand Slam titles since then, shutting out Djokovic in his bid to win the major that would ensure he finishes his career as the most successful tennis player of all-time.
The 38-year-old has reached the semi-finals of all three Grand Slam tournaments in 2025, which suggests he is still a contender for the biggest prizes in tennis, but he has struggled to maintain his fitness over the course of a long two-week event played over best-of-five-set matches.
The Serbian was forced to pull out of his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev in January due to injury and he was also hampered in his Wimbledon semi-final against Jannik Sinner by a fitness issue.
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Now Wilander has suggested that Djokovic needs ill-fortune to befall Sinner or Alcaraz to give him a chance of success at this year’s US Open.
“Looking at the last matches that he’s played against Sinner and Alcaraz, I think he may need some help to win that 25th Grand Slam,” said Wilander, as he prepares to join the Eurosport broadcasting team at the US Open.
“I think we need something to happen to them, to at least one of them, because to beat Sinner, and then to beat Alcaraz and having to beat someone like Jack Draper maybe before… that’s tough for any player, even if your name is Novak Djokovic. So I do think that he does need a little bit of help from the other guys.
“He doesn’t need much, but he needs a little help to take out one of the big two.”
Mats Wilander is part of the Eurosport commentary team
Wilander insists this is not the moment to write off Djokovic, even though the former world No 1 appears to have lost the magic that made him invincible for so long.
“I would not count him out yet,” added Wilander. “I thought he had a chance to win another Grand Slam in 2025 and Wimbledon looked like his best chance.
“Can he beat Sinner on a hard court when he is looking like he might be one of the best hard court players of all-time? I don’t know, but you can never write off a great like Novak.
“I have not written him off, but it’s getting tougher than ever for him. He needs to beat four players in a row to win a Grand Slam and they might all be really tough.
“That’s the big problem. It’s not the level he is at. It’s trying to bounce back from winning match after match. That’s tough at any age and especially at his age.”
Djokovic will start his US Open campaign against world No 48 Learner Tien, in a match that will test the veteran to the full in what will be his first competitive match since the Wimbledon semi-finals over a month ago.
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