Father time waits for no one, not even the champions. It is no secret that Novak Djokovic is closer to the end than the start, but what is left in the tank? How many trips up the mountain are left in this giant of the sport, who is likely to retire with a record that will never be matched again?
Australia’s Ken Rosewall is the oldest male to win a major singles title, doing so at 37 years, one month and 24 days at the 1972 Australian Open.
Djokovic went past that age mark in July of last year, some nine months ago.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion turns 38 in May.
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Looking at his run through ATP-level events, there is a marginal decline, although scheduling plays a part in that also.
Djokovic reached seven tour-level finals in 2022, eight in 2023, just three in 2024, and zero so far in 2025.
His last Grand Slam title (US Open 2023) placed him third on the list of oldest winners behind Rosewall and Roger Federer (Wimbledon 2017).
Since 2011, the longest drought between slam titles for Djokovic has been eight majors (French Open 2016 to Wimbledon 2018), with his current drought sitting at five.
Djokovic reflected on his longevity at Indian Wells last week after his second-round loss to the 85th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp.
"I guess if you put things in that larger perspective, of course I've had an incredible career. Being consistent for so many years, obviously you have high expectations of yourself," he told the media.
"Things are different obviously for me the last couple of years. I've been struggling to play on the desired level.
"Every now and then, I have [a] couple of good tournaments, but mostly it's really a challenge. It's a struggle for me."
The test of longevity comes at the Slam events. Best of five sets, over seven matches in 14 days. Something that was normally a strength for the top echelon, can become a weakness as the miles creep into the ageing legs.
"So it is what it is. I guess nothing can prepare you for that moment, in a sense. You have to experience it and try to deal with it in the best possible way," Djokovic said when reflecting on his time in the game.
The reality of the numbers still paints a pleasing story. Djokovic has only lost five times to players ranked 20+ since the start of last year (although three of those have come since December 30).
Where it stands out though is the fresher new guard of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Prior to Djokovic’s victory over Alcaraz at the quarter-final stage of this year’s Australian Open, he had lost his last four matches combined against those two players at Grand Slam level.
Djokovic drifted past Federer in the head-to-head stakes consistently around 2013/2014, six years the Swiss maestro's junior. That appears to be happening again, but only the very best are consistently stopping him, even in the twilight of his career.
Recently retired champion Andy Murray is in Djokovic’s corner, and the latter spoke about the ongoing partnership and the prospect of it carrying them to Wimbledon.
"I mean, for me personally I want to keep going, like the same day we finished the tournament, so I told him that," Djokovic explained.
"But for him, it took some time to go back and reflect on the partnership, speak to his people, his family, and see how committed he wants to be and where he can travel with me and work in terms of the schedule.
"So I was very glad when he decided to keep going, Indian Wells, Miami, and most of the clay court season. We're going to speak after Miami, but I think the plan is to go all the way till the end of Roland Garros and hopefully Wimbledon as well."
Asked if any changes to his game might help him hold on at the highest level, Djokovic suggested they would be subtle only.
"Well, I mean, I am trying to improve my game, as everybody else is, but my game is not going to change now drastically," the Serbian legend said. "I'm not going to play serve and volley, maybe every once in a while, but my game is what it is, the core is going to be the same. I'm going to try to adjust depending upon the surface that I play on and so forth."
So how does he feel? A man who holds nearly every record in the sport, doesn’t hold one in particular - the oldest man to win a singles Grand Slam title. Can he leave one more legacy (at least) before he ties a bow around this era and joins Federer and Nadal in riding off into the sunset?
"Things are not the same like 10 years ago, 15 years ago," he admitted. "I still try to take care of my body on a daily basis, and it's more challenging now, no doubt, but I still try to do my very best, given the circumstances."
For the first time since 2018, Djokovic has suffered three defeats on the trot ahead of his first match at the Miami Open against Australia's Rinky Hijikata on Saturday morning AEDT.
Would it be such a shock if Djokovic were to extend his losing streak to four?
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