Former Australian player Pat Cash has expressed doubts that Novak Djokovic will win another Grand Slam title. The former World No.4 said it will be difficult for the Serbian to beat Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in consecutive five-set matches.
The young duo of Alcaraz and Sinner have shared the last eight slams between them on the tour. Meanwhile, Djokovic has won 24 Majors in his glittering career, but he is still looking to win his record-breaking 25th Slam.
At the US Open 2025, Djokovic suffered a semifinal loss against Alcaraz in straight sets and admitted he ran out of gas against the Spaniard.
Speaking to Tennis365, Pat Cash said, “He needs a couple of them to fall over, that’s the reality. I’m really looking forward to seeing how he does.
“Towards the end of your career, it’s crucial to find that perfect balance of training hard enough to withstand two, even three, five-set matches but not overdoing it.
“Train enough to endure, train hard enough not to get injured. You need to conserve enough energy to not burn yourself out and then not train too much to get injured before playing.
Cash reckons recovery takes time when a player is at the fag end of his career.
“When you’re younger, you can keep pushing, and even if you get tired, if you play a five-set match, you know you can recover quickly. As you progress in your career, that just fades away, that’s the reality.
In 2025, Djokovic reached the semifinals of all four Slams and would look to go all the way this season.
“For Novak to keep going is absolutely phenomenal. He’s always finding solutions to the problems, so it will be very interesting to see how he fares at the Australian Open.
“Has he played enough matches? Has he trained enough? Is he saving his physicality only for the matches? And if so, will it work?
“I don’t see him beating Alcaraz and Sinner in consecutive five-set matches, and that is his problem. He might reach the semifinals again, but then he is likely to have a problem that is already familiar to him.”
Djokovic will look to deliver his best in the upcoming Australian Open.
