Why 38-year-old Novak Djokovic is facing ultimate test to break 54-year-old Grand Slam record
Novak Djokovic is looking to go where no other man has gone before as he could become the first player over the age of 38 to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Ahead of the Australian Open, all the talk is about Djokovic breaking his own record of 24 Grand Slams, but in some twisted way that milestone sounds a lot easier to achieve than becoming the first 38-year-old to win a men’s singles title at one of the majors.
The record for the oldest men’s Slam winner has stood for 54 years with Ken Rosewall the only man over 37 to win a major as he achieved his feat at the 1972 Australian Open, aged 37 years, one month and 24 days.
Rosewall came close to bettering his own record two years later as he finished runner-up to Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon at the age of 39 years, seven months and 22 days while he was 39 years, nine months and 26 days when he also lost the US Open final against Connors a few months later.
Since then, only two players over the age of 37 have managed to reach a Grand Slam final with Federer (37 years, 10 months, 24 days) finishing runner-up to Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2019 while Djokovic (37 years, one month, 10 days) was on the losing side against Carlos Alcaraz at the All England Club in 2024.
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The rising stars have taken over in recent years with Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, both in their early 20s, dominating the Grand Slams.
And with every major tournament that passes, let alone every year, the record is getting further and further away from Djokovic with injury niggles and illness no longer easy to shake off.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner will break Rosewall’s record by more than a year if he wins this year’s Australian Open as he will be 38 years, eight months and 10 days on the day of the final.
Rosewall himself is not too fussed if Djokovic betters his milestone, telling The Sit-Down: “Either way, I wouldn’t mind, but Novak, you know, he deserves his record, what he has. He’s won more Grand Slams than anybody else, so another one wouldn’t hurt,” said Rosewall.
“For me, it was just one of those things. I mean, I stayed playing tennis and that’s what kept me playing well and kept me feeling well.”
Djokovic is still “playing tennis tennis” and “playing well” enough to reach the semi-finals of the Grand Slams as he made it to the final four of all four majors in 2025.
But Rosewell added: “The field wasn’t as strong as it could’ve been because a lot of European players didn’t like to play on grass too much in Australia, and they never made the effort to play grasscourt tennis.”
And that is the big difference between a 37-year-old Rosewell winning the Australian Open and a 38-year-old Djokovic winning another major as the main draw is quite difficult with the Serbian likely having to get past both Sinner and Alcaraz to win the title.
Of course, there will be further opportunities at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, but he will have completed another trip around the sun as he will be 39 and that record will just be little more difficult to achieve.
