The Japan Times - Wimbledon offers Djokovic 'best chance' to make Grand Slam history

Djokovic is dreaming of putting an exclamation point on his incredible career by becoming the most successful singles player in tennis history.

The 38-year-old has been tied with Margaret Court on 24 Grand Slam titles since winning his most recent major prize at the 2023 US Open.

With Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and world number one Jannik Sinner emerging as the sport's dominant forces by winning the last six Grand Slams between them, Djokovic believes his most realistic hope of a historic 25th title lies on the lush lawns of south-west London.

"I would probably agree that Wimbledon could be the best chance because of the results I had, because of how I feel, how I play in Wimbledon, just getting that extra push mentally and motivation to perform the best tennis at the highest level," Djokovic told reporters at the All England Club on Saturday.

Djokovic lost to Alcaraz in the 2023 and 2024 Wimbledon finals and has failed to make the title match in any of his last three Grand Slams.

After losing to Sinner in the recent French Open semi-finals, Djokovic arrives at Wimbledon in the unusual position of no longer being regarded as the All England Club title favourite.

The Serb would draw level on a record eight men's Wimbledon singles titles with Roger Federer if he wins the grass-court tournament for the first time since 2022.

But Djokovic, who won his 100th tour-level title in May in Geneva, has been dogged by questions about when he will retire since fulfilling his long-held desire for Olympic singles gold in Paris last year.

He hinted after the French Open in June that he might not return to Roland Garros and was coy about a potential Wimbledon farewell.

- 'You're always hunting' -

"Whether it could be my last dance, I'm not sure, as I'm not sure about Roland Garros or any other Slam that I play next," he said.

"My wish is to play for several more years. I would love to be healthy physically and also mentally motivated to keep on playing at the highest level. That's the goal, but you never know at this stage."

After battling for years with Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, Djokovic is the last of that star quartet still playing.

The former world number one has been usurped by Alcaraz and Sinner over the last two years and he is happy to admit his only remaining goal is to make Grand Slam history.

"In a sense you're always hunting because you're always going for the titles -- in my also privileged position -- the records and more history," he said.

"I would say it's slightly different for me now in terms of I don't chase the rankings anymore in that regard. I'm trying to play the best tennis in Grand Slams and trying to win Grand Slams."

Djokovic, competing at his lowest Wimbledon seeding (sixth) since 2018, will begin his campaign against Alexandre Muller of France next week.

The Serb, who has been in every Wimbledon final since 2018, is seeded for a quarter-final meeting with British fourth seed Jack Draper and a semi-final against Sinner before a potential final showdown with Alcaraz.

Looking ahead to that daunting schedule, Djokovic conceded his performances haven't been consistent enough of late.

"My level of tennis has been going quite up and down and fluctuating much more than it was the case for the most part of my career, if you see the last year and a half, too, I've been kind of volatile with my results," he said.

"This year I played two semi-finals. Unfortunately in Australia I had to retire. In Roland Garros I was outplayed by Sinner. I think I still played a decent level of tennis that showed me that I can still play on a very high level at the later stages."

T.Ikeda--JT