"Not going to be easy for those guys"- Novak Djokovic favorite for Australian Open over the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, says Andy Murray
Andy Murray recently opined that Novak Djokovic was still the favourite to win the Australian Open.
Murray, a former World No. 1, lost four Australian Open finals (2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016) to the Serb.
The 36-year-old believes that despite a few questions over the champion’s fitness, Djokovic would still be able to see off his more youthful challengers such as Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in the next few weeks.
"I know that when the Australian Open rolls around that it's not going to be easy for those guys to win against Novak in a huge match, because some of them are trying to do it for the very first time and win a Major for the very first time," Murray said in an interview to UK's Daily Mail.
Murray stated that Djokovic's vast experience in high-pressure situations would see him prevail at the Grand Slam Down Under.
"Novak won three slams and lost a five-set epic final at Wimbledon. I still believe that he's the favourite going in, he still looks great but I would imagine it probably doesn't get easier," he said.
The three-time Grand Slam winner mentioned that a lot of people thought that Djokovic's dominance would end after his Wimbledon loss to Alcaraz but the results were different.
"A lot of people were saying that after Wimbledon and it didn't really (happen)," said Murray.
The British tennis star added that tournaments such as the Davis Cup were key events in the tennis calendar as they offered good opportunities for the younger generation of players to test their skills against someone like Novak Djokovic.
"The Davis Cup matches or the ATP Tour Finals are important events, of course they are and I'm sure for Sinner or some of the younger guys that helps like with their belief when they go on court against him," Murray said.
Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic twice in 2023
Jannik Sinner beat Djokovic twice in November 2023, registering his first ever wins against the Serb. Sinner beat the World No. 1 in the group stage of the ATP Finals as well as their Davis Cup clash.
Despite these losses, Djokovic has a 4-2 record against the Italian, whom he beat to eventually clinch the 2023 ATP Finals title.
Though the Serb lost the Wimbledon final to Alcaraz, he had a 3-1 record against the Spaniard in 2023. Djokovic leads by 3-2 in their overall head-to-head.
The recent losses have raised doubts about the Serb's dominance at the year's first Grand Slam in Australia. Murray, however, said that younger players would not have it easy against Djokovic, who has won a record 24 Grand Slams. He said that except Alcaraz, no one in the new generation has won a Grand Slam tournament.
"Alcaraz was in that position going into Wimbledon where he had won a Major already and that was against Casper (Ruud) who had also never won one," he pointed out in the same interview.