Novak Djokovic will start his 22nd season on the ATP Tour at the Australian Open as he looks for his 25th Grand Slam.
Djokovic begins the 2026 season as the world number four, despite only playing a select few tournaments outside of Grand Slams in 2025.
The star is adamant that he can win another Grand Slam in his career and take his tally to a remarkable 25 major wins.
Greg Rusedski has suggested Djokovic can win the Australian Open and now Pat Cash has shared his opinion.
Pat Cash doubts Novak Djokovic’s ability to beat both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
Speaking to Tennis365, Cash believes the power of both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will be too much for the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
He 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.
Novak Djokovic would be the undisputed GOAT if he won Grand Slam number 25 – could anyone argue otherwise?
“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.
“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.
Djokovic reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams in 2025 and Cash believes that’s the best the Serbian can hope for this year.
“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 find out his first round opponent at the Australian Open when the draw is made on 15 January.
Why the Australian Open is Novak Djokovic’s best chance to win a Grand Slam
Djokovic’s history at the Australian Open is unparalleled and he will fancy his chances of success at the Melbourne event.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion won 10 of his majors Down Under, which included four in five years between 2019 and 2023.
What does Novak Djokovic need to change to win a 25th Grand Slam title?
Djokovic boasts an extraordinary 90% win-rate from his 109 matches at the Grand Slam throughout his career.
He has lost just ten times in 20 years, which will inspire confidence in the tennis icon despite the levels of Alcaraz and Sinner.
Djokovic has reached back-to-back semi-finals at the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025, and there is a chance he can do better this year.
