[RUNECARAZ ERA]

Was RG 2011 SF

 

[laughingcavalier]

Been saying this for years (after achieving TCGS) which Fedal wil NEVER have but the guy is one stubborn Serb even after injuring meniscus on the treacherous uneven surface of RG.

Hopefully Novak learns his lesson in upcoming 2026 season & says to FO to maximize chances at Wimby.

Yes... fully agree.

After either or in Indian Wells/Miami he should spend April & May playing 250's/500's elsewhere (not clay) and bypass the whole clay season.

Keep active during the lower tiered tournaments & still rack up some points that way he can defend the 250 from Geneva & 800 from the French Open.

Then head to Wimbledon with either a grasscourt leadup or straight into it.

Absolutely no claycourt events in 2026 IMO... especially in April & May... Total waste of time & energy.

 

[Weakerer]

Olympics final and not even close... that was a man on a mission giving a 200% at a level above his body could generate. Alcaraz was playing at 90% that final and still lost the match, with that level Alcaraz would win Djokovic at GS.

 

[DinnerWarrior]

Djokovic's prime ended in 2016, amigo. He sure brought prime level to some individual matches in later years too though. Not sure when the last such match occurred, it's easy to say 2023 YEC but Karlo and Sinflop were such mugs it's hard to judge.

 

[FilipoSVK]

He was literal trash outside the serve in the 3rd.
Played better in AO 2025.

Maybe you're right, yes, but that 3rd set was the one that made me think it could be one of those matches. AO 2025 against Alca is another good option.

 

[Moozza]

Probably at some point in 2018

 

[BaselineGod]

December 2016, 9 months before his youngest kid Tara was born.

 

[The Hero Cop Mark]

Djokovic's prime ended in 2016, amigo. He sure brought prime level to some individual matches in later years too though. Not sure when the last such match occurred, it's easy to say 2023 YEC but Karlo and Sinflop were such mugs it's hard to judge.

It depends on how you describe prime. If it's a continuous period of consistent high-level tennis, then sure, 2011-16. But I think it's more of a peak, like 2008-2014 for Nadal, late 2003 - AO2010 for Federer.
But for me, prime is a stretch when ATG has the body and the game to win a Slam. So for Djokovic it's 2007-2024, for Nadal 2005-2022, for Federer 2003-2019.

 

[YonaMX]

The last match of Djokovic's absolute prime was at the 2016 YEC, the final against Murray.
The last GOAT performance Djokovic gave in a Grand Slam match was the 2021 French Open SF match against Nadal.
The last matches of post-prime Djokovic where he played on a high level pre-decline were the SF and final annihilating Alcaraz and Sinner back-to-back.
The last GOAT performance Djokovic gave anywhere was the 2024 Summer Olympics final against Alcaraz.
The last elite performance Djokovic gave was the 2025 Australian Open QF match against Alcaraz.

Hope that helps.

 

[JHRAY13]

If we define the "prime" as big 3 being the favourites to win a match against almost everyone in the field, not something like 06 Federer, 11 or 15 Djokovic and 10 or 13 Nadal, then I would suggest the following as their last match of being their "prime":
For Rafa, it is the 2022 Wimbledon QF against Fritz, and after he returned from the injury in Cincinnati, everything is not the same as before.
For Novak, I agree with you, this is the one. Maybe a little bit of the prime left in the R4 match against Cerundolo, but he hurt himself, so I'm not sure about this one.
And for Roger, I would say 2020 Australia open. After then, he would just lose to some random guys in the tour.

 

[RoS]

The last match of Djokovic's absolute prime was at the 2016 YEC, the final against Murray.
The last GOAT performance Djokovic gave in a Grand Slam match was the 2021 French Open SF match against Nadal.
The last matches of post-prime Djokovic where he played on a high level pre-decline were the SF and final annihilating Alcaraz and Sinner back-to-back.
The last GOAT performance Djokovic gave anywhere was the 2024 Summer Olympics final against Alcaraz.
The last elite performance Djokovic gave was the 2025 Australian Open QF match against Alcaraz.

Hope that helps.

Agree

The WTF 2023 was the truly last breath of peak Djokovic. The epilogue of a incredible year where he became the GOAT and erased all the records.

The OG 2024 was yes his " now or never " moment. He was declining already but he had still the strengh to summon a last time his 2023 form.

I would add that the FO 2025 was maybe the last time where Djokovic was truly a contender. He declined but he was in form physically and mentally. He delivered a great match against Zverev and played his best match against Sinner this year. He could have won set 2 and 3 if he had a little fraction of his old powers. I think 2023 Djokovic wins the FO SF and he would have a good chance against Alcaraz who was playing subpar for the first two sets.

 

[pimpampum]

The last match of Djokovic prime was against Vacherot in Shanghai 2025 SF.

 

[xargon]

Disagree, I would say 2024 Olympics final vs Alcaraz

I generally prefer Alcaraz over Djokovic but Alcaraz got too cocky and overconfident after winning his SF vs FAA "I'm going to give the people of Spain what they want which is the gold", glad to see Djokovic beat him in that match, that was the last great match that Djokovic played IMO.

Prior to that, it would have to be 2023 ATP Finals SF vs Alcaraz and 2023 ATP Finals F vs Sinner where Djokovic played at a very high level.

crazy he said that and lost

 

[BodyServe]

At a slam maybe but overall, very hard to look past the Olympics 3 hours 2 sets final.

He shouldn't have played RG last year but got greedy an blew away his last real chance to win WB.

To be fair in 2024 he was the defending champion, so hard one to skip and it gave him some clay preparation for the Olympics.

It is 2025 where he should have skipped RG, even if it had been the tournament where he has been the most competitive this year, being fresh for Wimbledon could have been very important.

 

[BodyServe]

It depends on how you describe prime. If it's a continuous period of consistent high-level tennis, then sure, 2011-16. But I think it's more of a peak, like 2008-2014 for Nadal, late 2003 - AO2010 for Federer.
But for me, prime is a stretch when ATG has the body and the game to win a Slam. So for Djokovic it's 2007-2024, for Nadal 2005-2022, for Federer 2003-2019.

Yes, when you are still competing for slams you are still in your prime, this is pretty straightforward.

 

[The Hero Cop Mark]

This match he hit one of the most beautiful backhands to ever grace a tennis a court. He did a vertical split as he hit the ball from a difficult position. I always meant to go back and take a photo of it.

I miss Movementovic

 

[The Hero Cop Mark]

He shouldn't have played RG last year but got greedy an blew away his last real chance to win WB.

well, clay is his best surface now and he wanted to be ready for OG, so I'm not sure

 

[stabiljka]

I think even during Olympix his movement was way worse than in that match vs Lore

King was still flying around the court. Once his knee was gone after the match vs Cerundolo, he never moved like that again
Those back-to-back 5-set wins against peaking out of their mind opponents were the last Movementovic&Staminovic matches

Nope.
First off, if he was in his prime, he wouldn't need 5 sets to beat Musseti, let alone Cerundolo.
His movement was noticeably compromised from the start (if you watch the analysis right after the match, all of them mention this. A few great runs don't mean he was in his prime. He was always a master of feeling the game and choosing when to spend extra energy. That doesn't disappear when one is not in his prime.
And third, he didn't finish the tournament. Yes, he got injured, but that last match was the moment when his injuries started happening quite often, even though he played less and less tournaments.

Another thing I notice in this thread is that lot of people confuse peak and prime. Your OP is about the prime.

Having seen almost all of Djokovic matches in the last four years (yes, the first time I saw Djokovic match was in the summer of 21). Started with the big ones easily found on youtube and then subscribed to tennis tv where I watched all the ATP tournaments chronologically. And because I watched them in such short period of time, I think I have better perspective on this than other fans.
So, the last matches that Djokovic played still being in his prime are the ones in Turin and Davis cup against Sinner. I don't think there is the very last match, but he was definitely not in his prime after the 2024 AO open.

 

[stabiljka]

...
So, the last matches that Djokovic played still being in his prime are the ones in Turin and Davis cup against Sinner. I don't think there is the very last match, but he was definitely not in his prime after the 2024 AO open.

Of course, he did have some good short periods after that, and even great matches. already mentioned Roland Garros,. Olympics vs Alcaraz was a masterpiece and Novak looked and played like he was 24. But his prime time had gone. Shanghai 24, almost the whole tournament he looked and played great, although not as good as in his prime.

 

[norwood_10]

2024 is absolutely not 'prime' Djokovic. You could argue Olympic F was like 2002 Sampras, peaking randomly to perfect timing.