Novak Djokovic enjoyed an outstanding 2025 campaign, although he once again failed to fulfil his ultimate goal.
Sadly, that desperate desire to claim a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title only seems to be becoming less and less likely as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s grasp on the ATP Tour tightens.
They are, by some distance, the top two players in the world. For the Serbian to have to get past both of them to win another major title seems like an impossible task.
That being said, it should not diminish the legendary career that Novak Djokovic has enjoyed, and to rule him out from achieving this goal would be foolish, given his penchant for completing the unlikely.
Boris Becker’s relationship with Novak Djokovic
One of the most successful periods of Djokovic’s career came under the watchful eye of Boris Becker, who coached him from 2013 to 2016.
Together, they won six Grand Slam titles and 14 Masters 1000 events, but their split was a surprising one considering the success they enjoyed.
Novak Djokovic would be the undisputed GOAT if he won Grand Slam number 25 – could anyone argue otherwise?
Andrea Petkovic, speaking on the Tennis Channel’s Big T Podcast about the current state of coaching, has now revealed what Becker’s relationship with Djokovic was really like during those three years.
She claimed: “Every single player, whether he’s ranked one in the world or 15 or 35, is coming out with at least five people. That was never the case in my time, and I retired three years ago, so I haven’t played, like, 20 years ago. This was three years ago.
“I think even the top players, even somebody like Andy Roddick, even somebody like Roger Federer, they had a maximum three people with them.
“Now every single one is travelling with an entourage of 25 people, brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and fathers and physios and nutritionists. And that is great because the prize money has risen in a way that they can afford to have a bigger entourage, but it just complicates things in terms of player-coach relationship, because that is a very close bond.
“I know from Boris Becker. He has told me so many things about his relationship with Novak, where Novak would call him at three a.m. in the morning and tell him, “Boris, I was thinking about my forehand elbow when I hit approach shots, I think we should work on that.”
“And then Boris has to come up overnight between three a.m. and eight a.m., when the first practice session is, he has to come up with something.”
This came just after Mark Petchey predicted how Juan Carlos Ferrero would be feeling now after his split from Carlos Alcaraz.
Novak Djokovic’s worrying withdrawal ahead of the Australian Open
Given Sinner and Alcaraz’s shared dominance at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, Djokovic will likely see the 2026 Australian Open as his best bet of winning major title number 25.
After all, it represents an opportunity to take these two superstars by surprise, capitalising on potential rustiness after a month-long off-season.
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Not to mention that the 39-year-old remains the greatest champion in the history of the Australian Open, which should give him cause for optimism despite his recent struggles.
Last year, he made it to the semi-finals, but was forced to retire mid-way through his match against Alexander Zverev.
Worryingly, Djokovic has recently withdrawn from his pre-Australian Open event in Adelaide, indicating fitness fears that could prevent him from going the distance once again.
