Novak Djokovic has received some predictions for the 2024 season that he won’t be keen on hearing.
The world No.1 has openly expressed his aim to enhance next year's performance by securing victories in all four Grand Slams and claiming an Olympic gold medal. Yet, former Spanish Tennis star Alex Corretja doubts his ability to achieve this feat, suggesting Djokovic might struggle to conquer all the major titles. As the Australian Open approaches, Djokovic is also striving for his 11th title in Melbourne.
Djokovic stands a chance to accomplish the rare Calendar Golden Slam next year, an achievement he fell short of in 2021. Nonetheless, two former pros foresee an increasingly challenging path ahead for the 36-year-old, expressing scepticism about his prospects of winning all five major tournaments.
“I think that would be a little bit surprising [to win a Golden Slam] because even if he improves his game so much, he's getting older,” Corretja told Eurosport. “It's normal that he is getting older and the recovery is not the same.
“But at the same time, he's got the experience and he's just focused on the important tournaments and the ones that he feels are going to make a difference in his life. I'm sure that he's going to keep on winning Slams, but it's going to be tougher and tougher and he knows that.”
Djokovic hasn't been defeated in a match at the Australian Open since 2018 when he was grappling with an elbow injury. The Serbian player is presently aiming for his 11th victory in Melbourne and his 25th Grand Slam title overall. Despite being seen as the frontrunner, according to Corretja, the tournament's draw appears more uncertain than ever due to the competitive prowess of Djokovic's challengers.
Corretja continued: “They're growing, they're getting stronger. And mentally, it is pretty much the first time you have players who believe they can do well in a best-of-five Slam, and sustain their level for a long time.
“After three, four matches they were already exhausted. But now I think you have players that they can really cause problems to Novak. And that's what I think is going to be probably the most open Australian in the last years.”
Naming some of the threats to the world No 1’s reign in Australia, the Spaniard thought that Sebastian Korda and Ben Shelton could cause a surprise alongside the usual suspects of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev and 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas. “It's not going to be any easy to beat them,” Corretja added.