It wasn’t to be for Novak Djokovic at SW19 as he lost his third Grand Slam semifinal of the season.
The Serb looked mightily impressive en route to the last four, securing strong wins over the likes of Dan Evans, Alex de Minaur, and Flavio Cobolli.
Standing between Djokovic and a place in an 11th Wimbledon final was world number one Jannik Sinner, who had knocked him out of the French Open at the same stage one month earlier.
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Suffering the same fate as he did in Paris, Djokovic lost to Sinner in straight sets, 3-6, 3-6, 4-6.
As Djokovic continues to search for the elusive 25th Grand Slam title, his former coach has been asked whether he believes the goal is achievable.
Boris Becker says ‘time is running out’ for Novak Djokovic to win a 25th Grand Slam
During the latest episode of ‘Becker Petkovic’, Boris Becker was asked if he thinks Djokovic can win another Grand Slam.
“That’s the big question now, because to win a Grand Slam, he probably has to beat both [Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner],” he said.
“That’s how it was with Wimbledon, and he said Wimbledon was the tournament where he had his best chance of winning a Grand Slam.
“As a reminder, he has already won the tournament seven times. He’s now reached the semifinals of Wimbledon 14 times, just imagine. That’s so absurd, it’s an insane number.”
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Becker was, however, keen to comment on Djokovic’s age, as he questioned whether, at 38, he can still compete with his younger rivals.
“He also has to realise, yes, he did injure himself a bit on match point against [Flavio] Cobolli, but at 38, you get injured more easily,” he said.
“Against [Jannik] Sinner, in the first two sets, I think he was relatively fit. Sinner, of course, was the better player, because for me, Sinner is Djokovic 2.0; he’s another version of Djokovic, 15 years younger.
“Novak knows that, too.”
With that in mind, Becker isn’t sure how ‘realistic’ Djokovic’s chances of winning a record-extending 25th Grand Slam are.
“I’m glad he reached the semifinals; he played a great tournament, but is that enough for him?” he asked.
“He’s still playing tennis because he wants to win 25 Grand Slams, to become the sole record holder.
RankNameNationalityGrand Slam titlesYears wonT-1Novak DjokovicSerbian242008-2023T-1Margaret CourtAustralian241960-19733Serena WilliamsAmerican231999-2017T-4Rafael NadalSpanish222005-2022T-4Steffi GrafGerman221987-1999All-time Grand Slam singles title record
“But it must be said that on their good days, Sinner and Alcaraz are better than Djokovic is on his good days.
“That frustrates him, but he’s a realist.
“The question is, how realistic are the chances he’ll win another Grand Slam now, because time is running out for him.”
Unfortunately for Djokovic, Sinner and Alcaraz’s dominance may prevent him from winning another major, as Becker thinks the Serb has become a ‘fifth wheel’ for the second time in his career.
Boris Becker thinks Novak Djokovic is the ‘fifth wheel’ again like he was with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer
The former world number one proceeded to suggest Djokovic is now suffering from the same problem he struggled with during the first few years of his career.
“That was the seventh Grand Slam tournament that either [Jannik] Sinner or [Carlos] Alcaraz won. So, you could already say there is a clear dominance of the rest of the field,” said Becker.
2024 Australian Open – Jannik Sinner2024 French Open – Carlos Alcaraz2024 Wimbledon – Carlos Alcaraz2024 US Open – Jannik Sinner2025 Australian Open – Jannik Sinner2025 French Open – Carlos Alcaraz2025 Wimbledon – Jannik Sinner
“For my taste, what’s missing is a number three or number four. Djokovic is trying hard, but he’s the fifth wheel again.
“He was with [Rafael] Nadal and [Roger] Federer, and now he is with Alcaraz and Sinner.
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“I’m glad we have him, but he’s not a frontrunner.”
Becker’s co-host Andrea Petkovic agreed and suggested Djokovic doesn’t have ‘quite enough’ to beat Sinner or Alcaraz in 2025.
“That was his initial destiny in tennis, then there were years where he was number one,” she said.
“Now, towards the end of his career, it’s kind of his fate again that he’s the third wheel. What did he do wrong to make him the third wheel on the wagon again?
“It must be said that he has now played the semi-final three times [in 2025]. He is clearly better than the rest of the field when it comes to the big matches.
“But against those two [Alcaraz and Sinner], it’s not quite enough.”
Only time will tell if Djokovic can upset the odds and beat Alcaraz and Sinner to win his 25th Grand Slam title, but it will certainly be worth tuning in for.
Djokovic will return to Grand Slam action at the 2025 US Open, which begins on Sunday, August 24.