By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Photo credit: Novak Djokovic Instagram
Boris Becker believes the 2025 US Open was not only the end of the Slam season, it’s the end of an era.
Pointing to 38-year-old Novak Djokovic’s straight-sets loss to 22-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in the Flushing Meadows semifinals, Becker said it’s a clear sign the Serbian superstar knows he cannot win another Grand Slam.
Former No. 1 Djokovic, who captured his 100th career title earlier this season, is aiming to collect a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title. But Becker, Djokovic’s former coach, says the four-time US Open champion essentially admitted he cannot beat Alcaraz or No. 2 Jannik Sinner in Grand Slam play any longer.
“I think now Djokovic has realistically admitted that he can’t win a Grand Slam because of his age and the strength of young people,” Becker told co-host Andrea Petkovic in the latest edition of the Becker-Petkovic podcast.
In the aftermath of his 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2 US Open semifinal loss to Alcaraz on September 5th, Djokovic said he’d received a reality check.
The Grand Slam king said he’s not giving up his major dream of capturing a 25th Slam crown, but conceded world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz are simply too tough for him to beat in the best-of-five Grand Slam format.
“I’m happy with my level of tennis, but you know, it’s just the physicality of it, you know. As I said after the quarterfinals, the press conference when I spoke to you guys, I said, you know, I’m going to do my very best to get my body in shape to sustain that level and that rhythm for as many hours as it’s needed, but it wasn’t enough,” Djokovic said after his 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2 defeat to Alcaraz. “That’s something I, unfortunately at this point in time in my career, can’t control.
“I can do only as much as I can do. Yeah, it will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner, Alcaraz, in the best-of-five on the Grand Slams. I think I have a better chance best-of-three, but best-of-five, it’s tough.”
Despite the imposing obstacles Sinner and Alcaraz pose, Djokovic said he’s not abandoning his Grand Slam quest.
“I’m not giving up on Grand Slams in that regard, having said that. I’m going to continue fighting and trying to get to the finals and fight for another trophy at least,” Djokovic said. “But, you
know, it’s going to be a very difficult task.”
The 38-year-old Serbian superstar defeated Alcaraz in the best-of-three-set Olympic gold-medal match to capture the gold. Djokovic said he plans to play Athens but “other than that, it’s really still a question mark where I’m going to go and what I’m going to do.”