By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Friday, January 10, 2025
Picture credit score: Jean Catuffe/Getty
Novak Djokovic is an everlasting optimist.
The Grand Slam king would not view his main milestones as eternal information.
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In a brand new GQ cowl story Q&A, 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic cites four-time main winner Carlos Alcaraz and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner as two gamers with the potential to surpass his main mark.
“Individuals say nobody will ever beat my information. However I doubt it,” Djokovic informed GQ. “I imply, Carlos may very well be subsequent. Even Jannik.
“Carlos has carried out one thing that nobody has carried out in historical past at such a younger age. So I feel he has all the chances. I feel he’ll recover from it very quickly.”
Reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon winner Alcaraz is aiming to develop into the youngest man to finish the profession Grand Slam by successful this month’s Australian Open.
The 21-year-old Spaniard has overwhelmed the 37-year-old Serbian celebrity in successive Wimbledon finals. Djokovic says whereas he admires Alcaraz’s ambition, it could be untimely to “take into consideration historical past.”
“He himself has mentioned it, he needs to make historical past,” Djokovic mentioned of Alcaraz. “He needs to be ‘the perfect in historical past’. I respect that type of mentality, like, ‘Hey, I feel I’ve what it takes.’ However perhaps it is slightly early to consider historical past.”
Djokovic delivered a lesson in poise underneath stress in his 7-6, 7-6 victory over Alcaraz within the 2024 Paris Olympic gold-medal match then gave the reigning Roland Garros champion an encouraging endorsement.
In his fifth Olympic Video games, Djokovic made historical past because the oldest participant to win the Olympic singles gold medal since tennis returned to the Video games on the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
At internet, Djokovic informed Alcaraz his gold-medal second is coming.
“He informed me that I’ll win Olympic gold in the future,” Alcaraz informed the media in his post-match press convention. “And we’re going to work for it. I am certain my time will come.”
