Novak Djokovic Confident He Could Have Won 2025 Australian Open If Healthy
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Novak Djokovic was forced to retire from his semi-final match at the 2025 Australian Open, but he believes he could have won the tournament if he avoided the injury.
Djokovic wants to win his 25th Grand Slam title. No one has ever managed to do that, and the 37-year-old Serbian has never shied away from admitting that he wants to break records and make history.
After struggling a lot because of different reasons during the 2024 season, Djokovic's first chance to win a Grand Slam title this year came at the Australian Open.
He played exceptionally to beat Carlos Alcaraz despite being injured, but already in his next match, Djokovic was forced to retire after one set. Since his Australian Open loss, the 24-time major winner hasn't made many public appearances.
With his injury, it wasn't clear whether he would compete at the Qatar Open in Doha as planned, but he has now confirmed his participation during an interview with a Montenegrin publication, Vijesti.
In the same interview, Djokovic also talked about the 2025 Australian Open. The ten-time champion admitted that he believes he could have won if he avoided getting injured in Melbourne.
"I always give myself great chances; I can't be overly modest. I'm optimistic no matter who is on the other side of the net, and that has always been a defining trait of my career, helping me reach the highest levels in sports."
"That's why, without false modesty, I say that with the level of play I reached and built up in my quarterfinal victory against Alcaraz, I would have had a good chance against Zverev in the semifinal—who needed to be beaten—and if I had been healthy, also against Sinner…"
While Djokovic fully believes in his qualities and capabilities to win majors, he also didn't want to talk about "what if" scenarios. At the end of the day, he hasn't won, and it's time to move on to the next major for him.
"But well, it's pointless to dwell on "what if" scenarios; that’s in the past now. I believe that the level of tennis I reached in Australia is promising for the rest of the season. Australia, as a Grand Slam, holds a special place in my career."
Djokovic wasn't able to achieve his best level at Grand Slams last year. That's why that was his main goal this year, and even though he didn't win the title in Australia, the Serbian player feels like he achieved that goal.
"Last year was a bit turbulent—I won the Olympic gold medal, which I had been waiting for and which was my main goal, I played the Wimbledon final, but I had an injury and played with a lot of ups and downs. I lacked consistency in maintaining a high level of tennis throughout the season."
"So, this year, I wanted to start with at least a satisfactory level of play, and I think I achieved that. Of course, there is always room for improvement, but my performance in Melbourne gives me additional motivation for the rest of the season."
