Former German player Boris Becker has questioned if Novak Djokovic can go past Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to win his record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title. Djokovic recently lost the Wimbledon semifinal against Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
The Serbian was also knocked out by the Italian in the semifinal of Roland Garros. Earlier in the season, Djokovic suffered a hamstring injury in the Australian Open and could not complete his semifinal clash against Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam titles in his glorious career and he is looking to win his 25th Major title, which would help him go past Margaret Court’s record.
Speaking on his podcast with Andrea Petkovic, Becker began by stating: “That’s the big question now, because to win a Grand Slam, he probably has to beat both [Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner].
“That’s how it was with Wimbledon, and he said Wimbledon was the tournament where he had his best chance of winning a Grand Slam.
“As a reminder, he has already won the tournament seven times. He’s now reached the semifinals of Wimbledon 14 times, just imagine. That’s so absurd, it’s an insane number.”
The German added, “He also has to realise, yes, he did injure himself a bit on match point against [Flavio] Cobolli, but at 38, you get injured more easily.
“Against [Jannik] Sinner, in the first two sets, I think he was relatively fit. Sinner, of course, was the better player, because for me, Sinner is Djokovic 2.0; he’s another version of Djokovic, 15 years younger. Novak knows that, too.
In all three Slams of the ongoing season, Djokovic has made it to the semifinal stages.
“I’m glad he reached the semifinals; he played a great tournament, but is that enough for him?
“He’s still playing tennis because he wants to win 25 Grand Slams, to become the sole record holder.
“But it must be said that on their good days, Sinner and Alcaraz are better than Djokovic is on his good days. That frustrates him, but he’s a realist.
“The question is, how realistic are the chances he’ll win another Grand Slam now, because time is running out for him?”
Djokovic will look to carry his good form into the North American swing.