Novak Djokovic has looked a long way from contending for a Grand Slam title during most of 2025, but he has been backed to find his best form when he needs it most.
Aside from a run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open that included a fine win against Carlos Alcaraz and some impressive results as he reached the Madrid Open final in March, Djokovic has struggled to find form this season.
This continues a trend from last year, when he was not at his best in regular ATP Tour events and only excelled when he played in a Grand Slam or at the Olympics, where he won the gold medal amid emotional scenes in Paris.
Djokovic appears to be continuing his record-breaking career in a bid to win a 25th Grand Slam title and former top 20 doubles player Colin Fleming believes there could still be moments of glory left in the Serbian’s story.
“I think he’s still got an inner confidence that when the time comes, the ones that he’s really motivated for the most, the Grand Slams now, to get to 25, I still think he thinks he can turn it on,” Fleming told Sky Sports Tennis.
“I don’t think he was in the right headspace to compete here [in Madrid]. It was a sort of flat and even the way he took the loss was a bit like, ‘nah, whatever, yeah, on to the next one. I’ve pulled out of Rome, I’ve got to get my head right for Roland-Garros.’
“He doesn’t need to be playing tennis to beat Alcaraz and Sinner in round one in Paris. He’s the master of the two-week event, building his way in, get through the first few matches, find his feet, find his form, and he’ll still back himself.
“It’s not ideal for him, but I wouldn’t rule him out just yet of getting number 25 and indeed title number 100, but I think the 25 is the big thing for him.”
Former British No 1 Annabel Croft is not so sure Djokovic can still thrive at the top of the men’s game, as she suggested age may be catching with him ahead of his 38th birthday later this month.
“His body has been tending to break down,” said Croft. “He’s 37, I think nearly 38, not going to get any easier,” said Croft. “I think everything is just looking very, very tough and uphill. And I think you mentioned the word aura, but you know, a lot of players now walk onto court thinking, ‘well, I do have a chance against him because he’s not playing great tennis’.
“They would have been panicking about whether they were going to get games on the board and now they all feel they have a chance. And that makes it doubly difficult for him
“We know that his total focus is on adding to that Grand Slam tally. He wants to become the greatest tennis player in terms of Grand Slam action ever.
“But it’s getting harder and harder, and actually, I always feel like he’s just gone a bit flat on the court as well. He just can’t find it, he can’t find that winning formula.
“He didn’t win a major last year, which was extraordinary for all four majors were slipped between [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcarz and when I look at his results, he’s had some extraordinary losses to very low-ranked players.
“So he’s definitely losing confidence and the last great match that I think he played was against Alcaraz in the Australian Open [in January]. I mean, that win was absolutely phenomenal.
“He hasn’t been the same since, so I don’t quite know what’s going on, whether there are distractions [outside of tennis] or he’s just not happy or he’s lost confidence. But whatever’s happening, he’s not looking in great shape, heading towards the French Open.
“He has pulled out of Rome and we know that is an event he absolutely loves. So he’s not in great shape ahead of the French Open.”
It was no surprise to see Djokovic withdraw from the Rome Masters given his current form, but his lack of match practice on clay ahead of the French Open leaves big question marks over his potential to challenge at Roland Garros as he targets a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam win.
