Novak Djokovic is preparing for the start of the new season, which will also be very important for his future as a professional tennis player. The former world No. 1 wants to shine again after a 2024 in which he did not win any Grand Slam titles, saving the season only thanks to the amazing feat at the Paris Olympics during the summer.
At almost 38 years old, the Serbian legend knows that he no longer has much time to increase the number of his Major titles and is willing to give his best to leave the whole world speechless. The current world number 7 will be helped by Andy Murray at the 2025 Australian Open, in the hope that this surprising collaboration will provide Nole with new motivation in the latter part of his glorious career.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion will attend the Brisbane International before the Happy Slam, wanting to play as many matches as possible to arrive in Melbourne in top form. The 37-year-old from Belgrade has not played an official tournament since the Rolex Shanghai Masters in October, where he was defeated by Jannik Sinner in the final.
Novak Djokovic, Buenos Aires 2024© Stream screenshot
Novak preferred to skip the last events of the 2024 season, having made it clear that he was only interested in the Major tournaments and the Davis Cup in this last part of his career. During the off-season, Djokovic played an exhibition match with his former rival Juan Martin del Potro in Buenos Aires and participated in some events with his sponsors.
In particular, the former world number 1 signed a new partnership with Qatar Airways and flew to Doha for a few days. A little while ago, it was announced that the Serbian legend will participate in the next edition of the Doha ATP (of which Qatar Airways is the main sponsor).
The feeling is that it will not be easy even for Nole to defeat opponents much younger than him such as Sinner and Alcaraz, who have no reverential fear of him and who have already beaten him several times in the last year.
The last challenge
The world number 7 will have to find new solutions to hope to surprise them and the help of a former champion like Murray could be very useful from a tactical point of view. It is no mystery that Novak’s main goal is to win his 25th Grand Slam title and write a new page of history.
Novak Djokovic, Doha 2017© Stream screenshot
In a long interview with ‘Match TV’, former Russian ace Nikolay Davydenko reflected on Djokovic’s current status: “I’m 43 years old… If I finished at 25 because of an injury, I could come back at 30 after recovering. At my age, my body can’t cope with such loads.
Nadal wasn’t even 40, and he couldn’t physically fight with professionals from the top 50 at the same level. It’s useless. Federer at 40 tried to prove he was tough. But he didn’t prove anything.
Djokovic is doing the same thing now, he is trying to show that age is no problem for him. Novak is trying to cheat nature, but he can only do it for a couple of years.
The former World No.3 also added: “He’s trying to cheat nature. We’ll see if he succeeds. Maybe he wants to surpass Federer and Nadal’s record for longest career. Roger finished at 41, maybe Novak wants to reach that age. Maybe he’ll play fewer tournaments.”
Nole is not afraid
Nole’s schedule in 2025 will be different from recent years, in which he has played very few tournaments. The former world No. 1 has struggled to find motivations in second-tier tournaments, but he knows he has to play more if he wants to return to the top of the men’s tour.
After the retirements of Federer, Nadal, Murray, Thiem and del Potro, Novak remained the last exponent of the old generation along with Stan Wawrinka.
Fans and insiders are wondering if Murray’s support will be enough to make him shine again in 2025, but we will have to wait some time before we can evaluate their collaboration.
Novak Djokovic, Shanghai Masters 2024© Stream screenshot
On the latest edition of his podcast, ATP legend Jimmy Connors discussed Djokovic’s choice to hire Murray: “The older you get, it’s tougher to push yourself. You look at ‘Djoker’ and he does everything to get himself in prime condition.
If he’s around someone who he feels comfortable with now – not that those in the past he didn’t feel comfortable with – but as you get older things change.
Your mind changes, your outlook changes, your feelings change and all that. If you can go and be more relaxed going into the tennis, it allows you to play even better.”
Tennis World USA