Novak Djokovic came exceptionally close to winning the Australian Open, but a landmark 25th Grand Slam continues to elude him.
Djokovic lost in four sets to Carlos Alcaraz to end a phenomenal journey which included an impressive five-set victory against Jannik Sinner.
The Serb cast doubt on his future in tennis after the match, suggesting he’s not sure if he will ever play the Australian Open again.
With his quest for a 25th major still ongoing, former Grand Slam semi-finalist Wally Masur has suggested a strange tactical tweak which might help the tennis icon.
Novak Djokovic told to fall down the rankings ahead of his next Grand Slam
Speaking to ABC News, former Australian Davis Cup captain Masur said a drop down the rankings might help Djokovic at Grand Slams.
Djokovic is currently one of the top seeds at the events, which means he doesn’t play Sinner or Alcaraz until the semi-finals at least.
Masur believes latter tournament fatigue means Djokovic has less of a chance than if he could play them earlier on.
Can Carlos Alcaraz win MORE Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic? 🤔
“I had this weird theory that he should let his ranking blow out so he goes in as a lowly seed or unseeded because on a given day if he plays Sinner or Alcaraz in the second round, it’s probably better for him than playing them in the semi-finals and finals.”
Masur believes a fresher Djokovic could eliminate them early and then proceed through the tournament at a better pace.
“Like beat the seed and take his position in the draw as opposed to having to work your way through the draw and then after you’ve had all the cumulative work to get to a semi-final and it sort of played out that way because if you consider he played Jannik in the semis, but he only played half a quarter and no fourth round so it was probably the equivalent of playing Jannik in the fourth round in terms of how many hours of tennis he’d had.
“That was a wacky theory of mine but on a given day he can absolutely beat anybody it’s just the cumulative effort of a slam at 38 years of age, which is tough.”
Djokovic has been knocked out of the semi-finals of four out of five of the last Grand Slams, with the 2026 Australian Open the only exception.
Where Novak Djokovic stands after the Australian Open final
Djokovic went one better at this year’s Australian Open compared to last year, so he’s raked in 500 ranking points.
That boost has allowed him to dislodge Alexander Zverev and climb to world number three in the ATP Tour rankings.
| Rank | Player | Points | +/- after Australian Open |
| 1 | Carlos Alcaraz | 13650 | +1600 |
| 2 | Jannik Sinner | 10300 | -1200 |
| 3 | Novak Djoković | 5280 | +500 |
| 4 | Alexander Zverev | 4605 | -500 |
Djokovic is currently 675 points higher than Zverev, although the German will likely rise back up to world number three due to the Serbian’s inactivity.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is next to confirm his next tournament, but last year he didn’t play until the Doha Open in mid-February.
Zverev, meanwhile, has signed up for the Rotterdam Open, where he will now be the top seed for the Dutch event.
Alcaraz was due to play in Rotterdam, but he pulled out following his Australian Open triumph.
