Novak Djokovic celebrates a win at the Miami Open

Roll the clock back to April 2024 and Novak Djokovic’s enthusiasm for tennis appeared to be in a very different place.

A heavy defeat against Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals was backed up by a shock loss against Italy’s Luca Nardi at the Indian Wells Masters, with Djokovic not even trying to disguise the lack of motivation he felt when he was stepping on court.

With 24 Grand Slam titles in his collection and his battle with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to be the greatest player of all-time long since won, it seemed as if Djokovic was running out of reasons to continue his career.

“I was more surprised with my level. My level was really, really bad,” said Djokovic after that Nardi defeat.

“That’s it, you know – these two things come together. He’s having a great day; I’m having a really bad day. Results as a negative outcome for me.”

He would go on to suffer more surprising defeats in the clay court season, with Djokovic suggesting he would rather spend more time with his family than play in tournaments other than Grand Slams.

The Djokovic of April 2024 would have been unlikely to enter the Monte Carlo Masters a week after he played a long and draining week at the Miami Open, yet flick the same clock forward to April 2025 and the mood around Djokovic feels very different.

He may have lost against Jakub Mensik in the Miami Open final on Sunday, but his route to that championship match should fuel his confidence and ambitions heading into the key part of his season.

We have already seen more of Djokovic than we did at the same stage of last year and, significantly, we’ve also seen much more of his potential to still be a champion on the biggest of stages.

His 38th birthday may be looming large next month, but Djokovic has recorded some big wins in 2025 that suggest he could still add the 25th Grand Slam title he so badly craves.

Currently tied with Margaret Court on 24 Grand Slam wins, Djokovic wants to be the sole owner of the most major titles and he will be daring to believe what could be a career-ending moment will come at the French Open or Wimbledon this European summer.

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His win against Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open was a moment to savour, with the final two sets served up by Djokovic in that match as good as we have seen from him for some time in a Grand Slam.

He also showed some brilliant form at the Maimi Open, with his serving moving to the next level as he found a level of accuracy that was too much for his rivals to deal with.

A defeat against a young gun who served his way to success will disappoint Djokovic, but he should have headed away from Miami feeling upbeat rather than negative about what comes next.

“Never really happy to lose, but he’s one of the very few players that I would be happier to lose to, to be honest,” said Djokovic in his press conference, as he saluted Mensik.

“I have seen him play when he was 15 or 16 and invited him, we had some training blocks together. He was training at my club in Belgrade, and to see his development and evolution is really great, amazing.

“I could see three, four years ago that he’s going to be one of the top players of the world. I’m super glad that he’s using the potential that he has, because he’s got the complete game. Obviously his serve is incredible, powerful, precise, wins a lot of free points with the first serve.

“Overall obviously now bitter taste because of the loss. But Miami, as I said on the court, really brought me a lot of joy and really good sensations on and off the court.

“I was very welcomed very nicely by people and supported. They were pushing me on and trying to give me strength for a comeback. Very grateful. Just enjoyed my experience overall. It was [an] amazing run.

“Unfortunately ended with a loss in the final, but I played some really good tennis.”

Djokovic is now due to start his clay court season in Monte Carlo next week and once again, that is a clear sign of his renewed motivation.

He played in Monte Carlo last year, but didn’t seem to be entirely committed to his campaign as he lost against Casper Ruud.

On the evidence of what we saw in Miami, Djokovic is a different beast 12 months later and he will need to be if he is to have any chance of fending off what is certain to be a hungry and motivated Jannik Sinner when he returns from his doping suspension in time for the French Open.

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