5 things that could stop Novak Djokovic at Australian Open 2024
Top seed and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will start his Australian Open defense with a first-round match against a qualifier or a lucky loser. The 36-year-old Serb is the hot favorite to win his 11th title in Melbourne this year.
However, the chances of Djokovic suffering a shock defeat in the tournament cannot be ruled out altogether. In this article, we take a look at five things that could stop him from winning his 25th Grand Slam title at Australian Open 2024:
#5. An injury
Djokovic continues to defy age, having won three of the four Grand Slams in 2023. But it cannot be denied that at 36, he always faces the prospect of an injury.
The Serb suffered a wrist injury at the recently concluded United Cup, which was partially responsible for his loss to Alex de Minaur. That also ended his 43-match winning streak in the country.
There could very well be a recurrence of that injury in Melbourne, which in turn could stall his progress in the tournament.
#4. Fatigue
As mentioned already, Djokovic is not getting any younger. But he will likely get the benefit of playing under the lights throughout the tournament, meaning that he can avoid the rigor of playing in the sweltering heat during the daytime.
Still, a string of potential five-setters could well cause enough fatigue for the great man to falter at some stage, especially the latter ones in the tournament. Djokovic might not enjoy battling it out with much younger players repeatedly.
#3. Law of averages
The Serb seems to be immune to the common rules that apply to lesser mortals. However, the law of averages might finally catch up with him, as it did in 2018 when he lost to Hyeon Chung in the fourth round.
There could be another unfancied opponent waiting in the wings to topple the legend this time around. However, the chances of that happening seem very slim at the moment.
#2. Lack of motivation
With an injury forcing Rafael Nadal out of the tournament, Novak Djokovic will no longer worry about facing his arch-rival. It seems pretty certain now that the Serb will end up with the most Grand Slam titles ever, irrespective of whether he can add to his tally of 24.
Normal rules hardly apply to Djokovic, but he might still be somewhat less motivated to keep adding new feathers to his cap. That, in turn, could help some of his opponents in the tournament.
#1. A top player who is much younger could stop Djokovic
We primarily refer to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who are 15 years younger than the Serb.
Last year, Alcaraz had his No. 1 ranking taken away by the Serb despite beating the latter in the Wimbledon final. The Spaniard will be raring to go at the Australian Open and he has the legs and mentality to go toe-to-toe with Djokovic in a marathon match.
Sinner, meanwhile, is the only player to have beaten Djokovic twice last year. He will fancy his chances of repeating the feat, as he is in the same half as the Serb.