 "Serbia's Novak Djokovic shakes hands with Germany's Alexander Zverev. Reuters")
Novak Djokovic can still win Grand Slam titles even at 38, feels former Ukrainian tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky. Djokovic, the former world number one, has not won a Major since his triumph in New York in the 2023 US Open.
Even as Djokovic carries on past his prime, Stakhovsky believes he is still good enough to win at Majors. In fact, the Ukrainian said that Djokovic has a better chance to get to his 25th Grand Slam trophy than someone like Alexander Zverev who is still looking for his maiden Major title.
Zverev is ranked higher than Djokovic but has not quite lived up to his talent with the duo of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz dominating the tennis scene.
‘Novak has better chance than Zverev’
Djokovic won the Olympics in Paris last year but could not add to his tally of 24 Grand Slams. However, he showed he is still good enough to be a contender as he reached semifinals in all four Grand Slams in 2025.
“Novak has every chance of winning another Grand Slam,” said Ukrainian tennis star Stakhovsky whose highest ATP ranking was 31.
“I would even say he has a better chance than Zverev. This year, he has reached four semi-finals. I think he can win anywhere," said the Ukrainian who could never beat Djokovic in his four meetings against the former top-ranked tennis star.
“His excellent statistics in Australia give him plenty of reasons to think about how he will approach this tournament and what will happen next,” he added.
Australian Open 2026, season’s first Grand Slam, begins January 12 with the final scheduled for February 1. Djokovic has won the title in Australia 10 times with the most recent one coming in 2023 when he had an incredible year. The Serb had won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open that year apart from reaching the final of French Open.
His best finish since 2023 has been a final appearance at the 2024 Wimbledon where he was thrashed by Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.