Novak Djokovic is heading back to Australia hunting his 25th Grand Slam title and if he defies the odds and wins in Melbourne once again, question marks over what comes next will be at the forefront of his mind.
Djokovic was booed off court in his last appearance at the Australian Open, as fans reacted with bizarre fury as the ten-time champion at the tournament was forced to pull out of his semi-finals against Alexander Zverev due to injury.
It was unclear at that point whether Djokovic would return to Australia, with the 38-year-old seemingly running out of chances to secure the extra Grand Slam title he needs to move ahead of Margaret Court in the all-time list.
Djokovic’s hopes of getting to that milestone have looked increasingly unlikely over the last couple of years, as he has continued to come up short in battles against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Yet he did manage to beat Alcaraz at last year’s Australian Open and with uncertainty surrounding the young Spaniard following his split with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, Djokovic may sense he has an opening to finally achieve his last big dream in tennis.
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Finding a way to beat Sinner will be a tough task as their recent meetings have been one-sided, but a dip in fortunes for Alcaraz and any kind of injury or illness for Sinner could open the door for Djokovic to press forward with his bid to land another major title.
The 2025 season confirmed Djokovic is the third best player in the world in the best-of-five-set format, as he reached the semi-finals of all for Grand Slams and came up short against Sinner and Alcaraz, with his body struggling to hold up to the rigours of a two week major tournament at the back end of his career.
Despite the odds being stacked against him, Djokovic has insisted he is eager to press on for as long as he can, as he offered up some defiant words that suggested this may not not be last year in tennis when speaking in Saudi Arbaia in October.
“Longevity is one of my biggest motivations and I really want to see how far I can go,” said Djokovic.
“You see across all the global sports, you know, LeBron James is still going strong. Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40. I want to keep going.
“I also want to live, I mean keep on playing professionally, to see the change that is coming for our sport and I’m super excited about it.
“The things that are happening that I can’t openly speak about at the moment, but I feel like in the next couple of years, I feel like tennis is a sport that can be and will be transformed.
“I want to be part of that change and not just part of that change, but I want to be playing when we rejuvenate our sport and set the platform that is going to be there for decades to come.”
He was then asked directly about retirement and he added: “It’s not happening. I’m sorry to disappoint them. It’s just not happening.”
Djokovic may claim he is keen to continue his career and he has suggested his dream retirement date would be representing Serbia at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Yet if he does achieve his dream of winning an 11th title at the Australian Open and sealing his legacy as the greatest tennis player of all-time with that 25th major title, it could be a retirement moment for a player who is already considered to be the greatest of all-time.