2024 has shown that Novak Djokovic is beginning to feel his 37 years. The rise of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz has accentuated the difficulties of the Serbian legend, who has struggled a lot to keep up with the pace of two champions much younger than him.

The former world No. 1 has not won a single title this season, which was saved by his resounding triumph at the Paris Olympics during the summer. Nole’s body has begun to show some problems, having had to undergo knee surgery a few months ago. The 24-time Grand Slam champion also had some shoulder discomfort in the last tournaments of the season and preferred not to play the last two events of 2024, the Rolex Paris Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals.

The 37-year-old from Belgrade is still competitive at the highest level, but he doesn’t have much time to win his 25th Major title. 2025 will be the crucial year to understand how much longer Novak’s career can continue. If he does not win a Grand Slam title next year either, Djokovic could think about retirement.

At the 2025 Australian Open, the Serbian will start the tournament behind Sinner, Alcaraz and Zverev, who is playing the best tennis of his entire career. The former world No. 1 has reassured his fans that tennis is still at the top of his priorities, but his choice to skip the Rolex Paris Masters and the ATP Finals – two tournaments in which he was supposed to defend his title – have generated a lot of discussion in recent weeks.

Djokovic’s new ranking

In the meantime, Djokovic already knows what his position in the ATP ranking will be at the beginning of next season. Novak will start 2025 as world number 7, a position that will also have repercussions on the Australian Open draw.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion – who will be looking to win his 11th title in Melbourne – could face Sinner, Alcaraz or Zverev in the quarterfinals.

On the latest edition of the ‘Inside-In’ podcast, former American ace Jim Courier reflected on Nole’s future: “Novak, I think, will continue to stay around and be a problem for the top guys. But it’s going to be up to him how much he is going to engage with them, and it’s certainly not going to be on a full level. So, this year is, no question, a big shift. All four of the Majors went to the youth.”

The 37-year-old from Belgrade has made no secret of the fact that – in this last phase of his career – all his energy will be focused mainly on Grand Slam tournaments and the Davis Cup. Djokovic would like to win the Davis Cup for the second time in his career after the triumph in 2011, but it will not be easy due to the new format of the competition. The former world No. 1 seemed close to succeeding in this feat last year, when he was stopped by Jannik Sinner one step away from victory in Malaga.

“I told you guys that a million times. I would like to play the Davis Cup too, let’s see what happens. Tennis is still my focus!” – the Serbian legend said in a recent interview.

“I am going at full throttle in the off-season, we go for another ride. I just needed to recharge and refresh a bit after an exhausting year. I am going to play in the first week of the season, I am just not sure yet where. Then, of course, Australian Open” – he added.

Nole will be in Malaga

Novak is expected to be present in Malaga next week to pay tribute to Rafa Nadal, who will play the last event of his professional career. Nole and Rafa have created one of the most intense rivalries in the history of modern sport, having faced each other 60 times on the ATP tour. Their last official match was at the Paris Olympics this summer, in which Rafa was not in top form due to an injury sustained the previous day.

The Serbian ace opened up on his rivalry with Nadal: “I think he peaked more than a few times against me, in Roland Garros particularly. I played him here for the first time back in 2006 and then the last time we played was in 2022.

I have experienced first-hand his evolution as a player. I actually think that he improved his backhand as he was getting older. He was probably conscious of physical struggles that he had and he had to be more aggressive on the court.

He was still top-spinning the forehand better than anybody has ever done it and he still kept that incredible defence and offence on the forehand. But I think with the backhand, he was just able to handle the high balls better than he was maybe at the beginning of our clashes.”