Oldest major winner wants Novak Djokovic to eclipse his record

Records are meant to be broken. When Pete Sampras retired with 14 majors, it was hard to foresee anyone surpassing his record, let alone three players — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokov — all surpassing him for the most Grand Slam titles in history. 

One tennis record, however, has stood for over 54 years: the oldest player to win a major, a feat achieved by Ken Rosewall, who was 37 years and 55 days old when he won the 1972 Australian Open. 

Djokovic, 38, has been unsuccessful in his pursuit of the record, falling in the semifinals at all three majors thus far this year. His latest loss, in straight sets to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon last week, was another indicator that he may never capture another slam. 

Rosewall is rooting for Djokovic to eclipse his longstanding record.  

"Either way, I wouldn't mind, but Novak, you know, he deserves his record, what he has. He's won more Grand Slams than anybody else, so another one wouldn't hurt," the 90-year-old told "The Sit-Down" podcast. "For me, it was just one of those things. I mean I stayed playing tennis and that's what kept me playing well and kept me feeling well."

Djokovic became the third-oldest man to win a major (Open Era) when he captured the 2023 U.S. Open at age 36 years and 97 days. Since that win, he has made just the one slam final, at the 2024 Wimbledon, where he lost in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz.

Roger Federer (36 years and 158 days) remains the second-oldest man to win a slam, a record he achieved with his 2018 Australian Open win. Federer nearly broke Rosewall's record at 2019 Wimbledon, where he lost in the final to Djokovic in a five-set thriller. 

Djokovic will get another shot at breaking Rosewall's record at the upcoming U.S. Open. A four-time winner at Flushing Meadows, the Serbian icon is also chasing a record-breaking 25th major title.