The former Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge has analyzed what could happen at the Australian Open 2025 and what role the most anticipated tennis players will have in the men's singles.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Australian - in the podcast The AO Show - has gone out on a limb about Novak Djokovic's future and has admitted that in Melbourne - despite his past results - the Serb can no longer be considered the favorite. 2024 has revealed that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, from this season, will for a long time be the two main favorites to win every Slam tournament they play.
"Djokovic is entering a very different and unusual phase of his career because he has chosen not to play a lot of events and to focus on the Grand Slams. He's actually going to be a bit of an underdog among all the players who can compete for the title because of that, and he hasn't won a major this year. That might give him more freedom and make him happy," told the Australian.
ADVERTISEMENT
Woodbridge also praised Sinner and Alcaraz, drawing comparisons to the Big 3.
"They've played some incredible matches against each other. A few years ago when Alcaraz won the US Open, they played an amazing five-set match. Sometimes as a former tennis player I say: No, they can't do that. It's not possible. And then they do it again, point after point. The quality of their tennis is like Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. What they do in their matches is really extraordinary," he added.
Meanwhile, Nole, after playing and losing the final of the Shanghai Rolex Masters against Sinner, praised the young Italian.
"I think there are several positives that I can take away. First of all, I think my tennis level was really good in this tournament, probably the best after the Olympic Games in terms of play, performance and fight. I did my best tonight. Maybe I didnt feel 100% fresh, but at the same time, Jannik deserves credit for playing the important points better than me, and thats what made the difference. He deserved to win. However, I think that even in todays final I played quite well, which gives me reason to believe that I can still play with the best players in the world at this level.
ADVERTISEMENT
I hope I can maintain this level in the coming months and also in the future. My main motivation comes from the love and passion for this sport, and also from the desire to continue competing. These are the matches and challenges that I still aspire to, to be able to play against the best players in the world, on the biggest stages, in the finals of some of the biggest tournaments in the world. That's why I work and that's why I continue to push myself. I don't know what the future holds. I still intend to compete and play next season, let's see how far I go," he said.
Djokovic's next appointment will be the Six Kings Slam, which starts today in Riyadh. On missing out on his 100th title, the Serbian champion added: "I wish it would have happened today, but it wasn't meant to be. It's not a do-or-die goal for me, I think I've achieved all my major goals in my career. If I continue to compete at this level I can still aspire to win it. Compared to most of my seasons in my entire career this was one of my worst in terms of results. But I knew there would come a time when I wouldn't win Slams and maintain the highest level for so many years in a row. I'm happy with my Olympic gold medal, which was the main goal this year."
ADVERTISEMENT
Djokovic concluded by reflecting on the aspects of Sinner's game that most remind him of his own game: "Every shot he has on the court. He's improved his serve enormously, which I think has become a great weapon. He's very aggressive from the baseline, as soon as he has a shorter ball he takes the initiative. He's very solid on both his forehand and backhand, he doesn't make too many mistakes and he tries to take away time from his opponent. It's something that reminds me of myself throughout my career, that's what I've done consistently for many years, playing fast tennis, taking away time from the opponent, suffocating him in a certain way. This year he's been so consistent that it's really, really impressive."
