I have been saying that for years.. Alcaraz biggest competition has been a 38 years old Djokovic, you have to laugh about that.

I do think Djokovic is getting pressure to keep going for the good of the game though; pressure from sponsors, organisers etc...

 

It's a good theory.

But there is one problem. What we on forums like this have to understand is the general public and casual sports fans really don't care whose competition Alcaraz and Sinner has, as long as Alcaraz and Sinner play each other in the finals.

This also applies to both the mainstream media and sports media.

 

FFS, enough of your annoying and miserable threads.

 

^^ this one is a bit funnier than usual 👏

 

If he's still making SFs, there's always a chance he could win given everyone has dips in form. Wawrinka won multiple slams with fortunate timing of Big 4 dips, and there is no reason to think Sinner and Alcaraz won't have ups-and-downs.

 

This.
He’s still putting himself in a position to win at the slams.
Sincaraz have won the last 8 slams, but any slip up and Nole is right there.
The 2026 AO would be a fitting place to get 25/ 11, as Nole is the King 👑 of Melbourne Park.

 

Yeah no, it's because he's still making lots of money while having good enough results without any health issues.

 

Money hasn't been a concern for years for him. After 20M you stop giving a crap unless you're snorting your salary away.

 

I doubt that is Djokovic’s motivation but you are right that he is exposing this era.

He can still win a slam. I’m not saying I think he will but there are only two people ahead of him in the queue right now. One of them gets injured then it is game on.

So yeah, he won’t win another slam but it’s not really that far fetched.

 

IF he's truly putting in the prep. work by keeping in form and finally SKIPPING the GRINDING DIRTFEST that is RG/FO while competing in some Grass tourneys instead, then either AO and/or Wimby isn't far-fetched at all.

Landing Sincaraz in AO evening/night matches could also b a key.

 

You never know… both Sinner and Alcaraz can be out (injury, retirement, etc.) before Joker can meet them of them in a slam. In that case, Joker still have 90% chance to win the slam again, otherwise he would have 10% chance to meet one of them.

Hence, that is why he wants to keep playing hoping that they (both of them) would be out first in order to have an easy sunset ride to the final not facing one of them at all.

 

So you think Djokovic is some kind of an object that stays the same the whole time. It is more probable for him getting injured than Sinner and Alcaraz. That's why he is not playing so much because at that age the risk of injury is higher - actually 2025 he looked better in body shape than.in 2024 probably because he learnt how to manage his aging body. He has never violated his body in his career even when he could have done just that, when winning everything. This is the exact opposite of Nadal who only met with the slightest opportunity showed us he is ready to break his body at any price - his injuries are his own doing the way he was playing the game. Federer was more like Djokovic I would say without the last years where he tried hard to stay ahead with the GS and thus made a lot of injuries to his body after which he couldn't recover.

As all we know tennis is a Marathon game not a fast sprint.

 

2018-2023 was the real weak era as Djokovic swept 12 slams despite not playing any better than in 2024-2025 when he was allowed to win 0 slams .

 

despite not playing any better than in 2024-2025

Mr Unbiased

 

If Alcaraz and Sinner were placed in the same slam half for a couple of slams opposite to Djokovic, as was young Djokovic almost always placed in Nadal's half at RG and Federer's at USO/AO, 38-39 y.o. Djokovic could win another slam vs somewhat tired Sinaraz.

 

I do not think he is doing it intentionally but the competition is so bad.
He is still trying because he has chances.

 

I plead the 5th

 

Uhhh, ... well, I still go to the grocery store, because I still want to eat. (like a champion!)

 

Federer and Nadal were both 36 when they won their final grand slams. So Djoko doing well at 38 isn't really an anomaly.

 

I think Novax is too busy thinking about the love of trees and his gluten free diet to think like an MTF poster

 

The reason Djokovic is still playing is the same as anyone that prolongs their career for as long as possible in a sport. It's because he's devoted his whole life to it, it's his passion, and he's never going to be as good at anything else ever again, or even remotely close to being as good at anything else ever again.

 

The sheer arrogance of thinking of knowing what goes through the mind of the Goat........

 

Exactly! And he is doing this as a part-time player! Actually the years before there were Medvedev, Zverev and others who were in shape - this year everybody is in decline. The weakest field I have ever seen. Hope 2026 could be stronger because no one is watching this!

 

I mean you're the one using arguments like "my deity said it therefore it's true".

 

If you think there's no big difference how a pro athlete performs at 31 or at nearly 39 dunno what to tell you, that's just ignorance

 

I seriously hope that Djokovic is not playing for the reasons given by the OP. That would actually even be dumb, as exposing the weakness of the field would only just also expose that he inflated his slam count against a weak field.

He still wins most of his matches, earns a lot of money and hopefully enjoys playing tennis. These are more than sufficient reasons to play on as long as he wants.

 

Federer was 38 in 2019 and making Slam F and SF (and winning Masters 1000) while ranked #2. Was that a weak era too?

Serena Williams came back from pregnancy at that age and made multiple Slam Finals (with much worse fitness than Djokovic).

Navratilova made a Wimbledon final at 38 (in the 1990s, without all the technological and scientific advancements in nutrition and fitness training etc...).

What Novak has been doing is remarkable, but he's not exactly the first GOAT level player to achieve good results in his late 30s, so I don't get the exaggeration.

 

Nobody is discrediting Slams won by players in their early to mid 20s. Dumb post OP.

 

Well:
39 yo King is 1-1 vs Alcaraz this season
24 yo Sinner is 1-4 vs Alcaraz this season

 

1. He loves tennis
2. He loves competition
3. Money
4. One slip up from Alcaraz/Sinner and him having a good day = #25

 

1. He loves tennis
2. He loves competition
3. Money
4. One slip up from Alcaraz/Sinner and him having a good day = #25

This. Close thread.

IDEK how people can't fathom 1 and 2. Do people honestly think Big 3 are hanging around or hung around purely for legacy or money? These guys are addicted and obsessed about tennis lol since they were 3 years old. It's be like telling someone to stop walking anymore.