{"id":20359,"date":"2025-01-19T02:36:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-19T02:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359"},"modified":"2025-01-19T02:36:01","modified_gmt":"2025-01-19T02:36:01","slug":"novak-djokovic-australian-open-verdict-delivered-as-navratilova-wilander-henman-weigh-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic Australian Open verdict delivered as Navratilova, Wilander & Henman weigh in"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/header>\n
\n
\"Novak<\/figure>\n

Novak Djokovic reacts during his match<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic\u2019s pursuit of history at the 2025 Australian Open remains alive as the Serbian has made it to the second week of the Melbourne major for the 17th time in his career.<\/p>\n

The tennis legend is aiming to win a record-extending 11th Australian Open title and\u00a025th Grand Slam crown overall.<\/p>\n

Victory would see Djokovic, who will turn 38 in May, become the oldest major singles champion in tennis history. Australian great Ken Rosewall holds the record, having won the 1972 Australian Open less than two months after his 37th birthday.<\/p>\n

Djokovic earned four-set victories against wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy and qualifier Jaime Faria in his first two matches.<\/p>\n

The world No 7 then produced a superb performance to down world No 25 Tomas Machac 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in the third round on Friday. He will face Jiri Lehecka in the last 16 before a potential quarter-final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz.<\/p>\n

Here are the thoughts of some former tennis stars and renowned pundits on Djokovic\u2019s form after his third round win.<\/p>\n

Martina Navratilova<\/h4>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been here so many times. You just see the progression, physically, emotionally, mentally. The focus, the intent. He\u2019s exactly what he wants to be. Tested well enough, but not too much. He\u2019s got plenty of everything in the tank and every match he\u2019s playing a little bit better.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a tough three-set match. I thought Machac was going to put up a little bit more, but Djokovic is too good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay Davenport<\/h4>\n

\u201cPlayed much better than he did in his first two matches, he just has that sense, I mean that\u2019s why he has won 24 [Grand Slams]. He knows when he needs to turn it on, he did so.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow he plays Lehecka, but I think everything in the first week for Novak, in his mind, is building towards that match with Alcaraz.\u201d<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic News<\/h2>\n

5 staggering Novak Djokovic statistics after latest Australian Open win: ft. his Grand Slam record since turning 30<\/p>\n

Australian Open Week 1 Verdict: Swiatek & Djokovic improving, Gauff & Alcaraz impress<\/p>\n

Mats Wilander<\/h4>\n

\u201cHe was incredibly focused [against Machac]. He was serving unbelievable. He was basically in lockdown mode, it looked like.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, in the first set, it was really close. The games were really close. And I thought this might be a problem. But he won all the big points, and this is as good as I\u2019ve seen him for quite a while now, I have to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tim Henman<\/h4>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the accuracy [of Djokovic\u2019s serve]. You know, he\u2019s definitely not one of the fastest, the biggest servers out there. But he\u2019s hitting his spots so well and getting a lot of cheap points behind that serve.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, you know, if the ball does come back, he\u2019s looking to really dictate with the third shot in the rally. So yeah, like Mats said, the first set there were some close games, but he always had a comfortable lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe second set, I felt, was where Machac had that opportunity \u2014 was up two-love \u2014 and then, you know, Djokovic looked like he was struggling to get his breath back. There were some long, demanding, physical rallies, but he broke straight back to 2-2.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, yeah, he just started dictating more and more from the back of the court. Machac probably made a few too many unforced errors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura Robson<\/h4>\n

\u201cI think for sure that was his best match at the tournament, and he\u2019s got to be happy. The level was ridiculous watching it courtside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Navratilova and Davenport shared their thoughts on Tennis Channel, while Wilander, Henman and Robson\u00a0were speaking on Eurosport.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT:\u00a0Novak Djokovic proposes radical changes to tennis after clash with Australian Open fan
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic’s pursuit of history at the 2025 Australian Open remains alive as the Serbian has made it to the second week of the Melbourne major for the 17th time in his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\nNovak Djokovic Australian Open verdict delivered as Navratilova, Wilander & Henman weigh in - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Novak Djokovic Australian Open verdict delivered as Navratilova, Wilander & Henman weigh in - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Novak Djokovic's pursuit of history at the 2025 Australian Open remains alive as the Serbian has made it to the second week of the Melbourne major for the 17th time in his career.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-19T02:36:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-72.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1032\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1290\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359\",\"name\":\"Novak Djokovic Australian Open verdict delivered as Navratilova, Wilander & Henman weigh in - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-72.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-19T02:36:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-19T02:36:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-72.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-72.jpg\",\"width\":1032,\"height\":1290},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Novak Djokovic Australian Open verdict delivered as Navratilova, Wilander & Henman weigh in\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Novak Djokovic Australian Open verdict delivered as Navratilova, Wilander & Henman weigh in - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Novak Djokovic Australian Open verdict delivered as Navratilova, Wilander & Henman weigh in - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"Novak Djokovic's pursuit of history at the 2025 Australian Open remains alive as the Serbian has made it to the second week of the Melbourne major for the 17th time in his career.\u00a0","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-01-19T02:36:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1032,"height":1290,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-72.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359","name":"Novak Djokovic Australian Open verdict delivered as Navratilova, Wilander & Henman weigh in - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-72.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-19T02:36:01+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-19T02:36:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-72.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1-72.jpg","width":1032,"height":1290},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20359#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Novak Djokovic Australian Open verdict delivered as Navratilova, Wilander & Henman weigh in"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20359"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20361,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20359\/revisions\/20361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}