Novak Djokovic's Tennis 'Not a Problem' But His Body Is Says Former Rival
NewsFriday, 04 April 2025 at 19:44
Despite doing his best to fight time, even Novak Djokovic can't win this fight, as his body has shown in recent months.
Throughout his tennis career, Djokovic has gone to extreme lengths to make sure to stay healthy, maintain the best possible diet, and use every trick in the book to play for as long as possible.
The fact that he can still compete for Grand Slams at 37 is proof of it working well, but even he can't defy the laws of physics and biology. With each day passing, the 24-time Grand Slam champion is getting a tiny bit slower.
As arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, it's still enough for him to be competitive, but the challenge to win titles is becoming more difficult every day.
His former rival, Gilles Simon, who beat Djokovic once in 12 meetings, recently spoke to Tennis365, saying how difficult it has become for the Serbian player to continue fighting against time.
"If there is one player who knows the way, it’s Novak, but Novak is fighting against something that is difficult and something that you can’t have – and that’s time. Time is only going in one direction and he is working a lot, I’m sure, to be as healthy as possible, because the tennis is not a problem – it’s just about the body."
Simon was one of the few who realistically said that Djokovic wouldn't get to 30 Grand Slams even when it seemed that he would win three majors every season. At the same time, he believes that if there is someone who could win another one now, it's the 37-year-old Serbian.
"That’s why when I said once he would not get 30 Grand Slams. I said if he gets to 25, it’s the maximum. Today, we realise yes – time has a grip on everyone and he is realising it now. I’m sure he realised it before, but he’s feeling it now. We are seeing it even more, but he’s going to have good weeks, and when he has good weeks, he is the player we know he be – and he can win anything."
Simon, like the rest of the tennis world, followed Djokovic at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He saw the Serbian win, but the former French player also reminded everyone that winning a major and the Olympics is something completely different.
"I think it was a huge achievement to win the Olympics last year. We don’t realise it was the main goal of the season and he was ready to have the week he had – it’s crazy. It says a lot about how strong he is mentally."
"Now, for the Slams, there’s only three left this year and next year he’s going to be one year older. Let’s see what he’s going to do, but he also needs to be a bit lucky and I think that’s what he maybe starts to understand – because sometimes he is doing maybe the same preparation as before."
"Everything he can control, he is doing it, but when you get older, some weeks you are trying your best and the body is not responding the way it used to respond. He’s going to prepare to be ready for the Slams, obviously what he wants to win is a Slam. Let’s see if he’s going to do it, but it’s five sets, it’s two weeks – it’s not like the Olympics where it was three sets, one week."
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