'Time is running out': Boris Becker's blunt assessment of Novak Djokovic's 25th Grand Slam hopes

Boris Becker weighed in on the possibility of Novak Djokovic achieving the coveted 25th Grand Slam title, following the absolute dominance of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz over the last couple of seasons. Nole recently left another major empty-handed, after falling in the semifinals to Jannik Sinner for the third consecutive major.

The same story had unfolded for the Serbian at the Australian Open and French Open, both times losing to Sinner, and all three occasions this year were in straight sets. He's not the only one who has frustrated Nole's Grand Slam aspirations, considering that the last two finals he reached at Wimbledon were against Carlos Alcaraz, with the Spaniard overcoming him both times (2023, 2024).

Djokovic secured his record 24th Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open, comfortably defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final – avenging his 2021 final loss where the Russian denied him a calendar Grand Slam. Since then, he has had 7 Grand Slam appearances, with a 31-6 record – with five of those losses coming against Sinner or Alcaraz. (He also lost to Alexei Popyrin in the 2024 US Open third round and withdrew before playing the 2024 French Open quarterfinals due to injury).

As the years pass for Nole – now 38 years old – for many, it's increasingly difficult to see him as a potential title contender at a major, especially when he faces guys like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who have split the last seven major titles between them and also contested the two most recent finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

In the latest episode of his podcast with Andrea Petkovic, six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker spoke about Djokovic's chances of winning another Slam title and extending his historic record. However, he believes that for the Serbian, the big problem lies with the impressive level of Sinner and Alcaraz. "That’s the big question now, because to win a Grand Slam, he probably has to beat both," Becker stated, whilst speaking on the Becker Petkovic podcast.

"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," he said. "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."

"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," Becker stated, recalling the quarterfinal match between Nole and Italian Flavio Cobolli.

"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."

"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."

"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," concluded the former German tennis player.