{"id":379936,"date":"2026-01-20T08:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T08:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/379936\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T08:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T08:32:15","slug":"why-novak-djokovic-may-have-trick-up-his-sleeve-in-bid-to-beat-jannik-sinner-carlos-alcaraz-to-australian-open-2026-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/379936\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Novak Djokovic may have ‘trick up his sleeve’ in bid to beat Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz to Australian Open 2026 title"},"content":{"rendered":"

Highlights: Djokovic hits Aus Open century with sparkling win <\/p>\n

Video credit: TNT Sports<\/p>\n

Boris Becker said Novak Djokovic<\/a> could have a “trick up his sleeve” at the Australian Open<\/a> after the 10-time winner began his tournament with a dominant 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over Pedro Martinez<\/a>.The 38-year-old had almost no preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year, and most expect him to again fall short of the standards set by Carlos Alcaraz<\/a> and Jannik Sinner<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But six-time Grand Slam winner Becker suggested Djokovic, who last won a major title in 2023, could go further than anticipated.<\/p>\n

“That was a perfect first round for Novak Djokovic,” he told TNT Sports. “The length of the match is good for him, as is the way he played. <\/p>\n

“We don’t need to say anything more about his serve \u2013 it was absolutely world class today. You didn’t know what to expect.<\/p>\n

“Novak hasn’t played a tournament in 10 weeks, but after tonight we know that Novak Djokovic is in brilliant shape.<\/p>\n

\"picture\"<\/p>\n

‘Insane and phenomenal’ – Henman wowed by Djokovic’s Melbourne record<\/p>\n

Video credit: TNT Sports<\/p>\n

“I was very pleasantly surprised with his level last year, particularly in the Grand Slams. He\u2019s beaten everybody else except Sinner or Alcaraz, and there\u2019s no shame in that because those two have dominated tennis for the better part of two years. <\/p>\n

“He\u2019s 38, and it gives him a great challenge and inspiration that he can still compete with them.<\/p>\n

“Naturally, with age you don\u2019t recover as quickly and you get tired a bit faster than if you\u2019re 28, and Sinner and Alcaraz are much younger. But I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Novak is in his best form starting in Melbourne. <\/p>\n

“I mean, he\u2019s won the tournament 10 times. If there\u2019s one guy who knows how to win in Melbourne, it\u2019s Novak Djokovic.”<\/p>\n

Djokovic had originally been scheduled to play at the Adelaide International earlier this month, but said he was “not physically ready” to compete<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Some people say it\u2019s a disadvantage that he hasn\u2019t played anywhere else, but maybe he has a trick up his sleeve,” Becker added. “Maybe he did something over the winter he doesn\u2019t want to show until the first round. <\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve seen his draw and I think it\u2019s decent. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he reaches another semi-final. And then who knows? Maybe Sinner doesn\u2019t make it that far – there\u2019s always a chance one of the top guys loses early. It\u2019s unlikely, but they\u2019re human beings. <\/p>\n

“I like Novak a lot; we\u2019re still very close, so I wish him nothing but the best. For me, age is nothing but a number. For me, you’re either good or you’re not good. It doesn’t matter whether you’re 38 or whether you’re 17.”<\/p>\n

Courier: Djokovic has one advantage over Alcaraz and Sinner<\/p>\n

Two-time Australian Open winner Jim Courier revealed the “one advantage” Djokovic has over his younger rivals Alcaraz and Sinner.<\/p>\n

“The only advantage he has over Sinner and Alcaraz is experience,” Courier said. “Last year against Carlos in the quarter-finals, his ability to use that experience while injured made the difference. <\/p>\n

“Carlos wasn\u2019t experienced enough yet to know how to take advantage. So, the experience edge is still there, but that\u2019s probably the only one.”<\/p>\n

But Courier admitted youthful energy could be a decisive factor again.<\/p>\n

\"picture\"<\/p>\n

Djokovic jokes he sent ‘copyright’ claim to Alcaraz over new-look serve<\/p>\n

Video credit: TNT Sports<\/p>\n

“It comes down to his fitness,” the American said. “He\u2019s said it\u2019s challenging now to take on Alcaraz and Sinner in best of five. We\u2019ll see. His game hasn\u2019t aged the way his body has. <\/p>\n

“It\u2019s ridiculous that he made four semi-finals last year at his age.\u00a0 He\u2019s more than capable of winning another major, and going for number 11 in Australia – almost half of his total if he gets to 25.<\/p>\n

“He loves it there and plays well there. The question is whether he\u2019s fit.”<\/p>\n

Stream every match of the 2026 Australian Open live and on-demand on discovery+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Highlights: Djokovic hits Aus Open century with sparkling win Video credit: TNT Sports Boris Becker said Novak Djokovic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379937,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[126862,101,118,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-379936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-australian-open-2026","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}