John McEnroe issues honest Novak Djokovic verdict as Henman, Wilander, Henin assess Carlos Alcaraz blockbuster
John McEnroe has shared his thoughts on Novak Djokovic’s quest to make more history at the 2025 Australian Open and cast doubt over the prospect of the Serbian’s records being broken.
Djokovic will face 21-year-old Spanish rival Carlos Alcaraz in a highly-anticipated quarter-final contest at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old Serbian is seeking to win an 11th Australian Open title and 25th major in total — both of which would extend records he already he holds.
Ahead of the blockbuster last eight encounter, former world No 1 and Eurosport expert McEnroe said: “What he (Djokovic) wants is to get to 25, I don’t think he cares how he does it.
“If he knew he was going to win the tournament, of course he’d rather play Alcaraz and get a piece of him and then beat [Jannik] Sinner in the final, the best of the best.
“But at this point, it’s not like he hasn’t proven he can beat the best, and done it a bunch of times. He’s just trying to set records that won’t be surpassed. He’s awfully close already, if not there.
“I don’t see how any male players are going to break his records for a long time.”
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Four of McEnroe’s fellow former stars and tennis pundits previewed the Djokovic-Alcaraz matchup.
Mats Wilander
“Djokovic has a reason to win as he doesn’t lose on this court very often. This is his home, this is his living room. He gets more free points on his serve and serves better than Alcaraz. I’m not saying he will win but those are the two key reason why he could win.”
Tim Henman
“I think Alcaraz has the physicality. He’s 15 years younger than Djokovic, playing best of five in these Slams. I think his movement is absolutely incredible and that physical element could play a part. I think the improvements Alcaraz has made on his serve, he is getting more firepower than he has in the past.
“This could be an important factor. I cannot wait for it. It doesn’t seem right that this is a Grand Slam quarter-final. It’s a been a Slam final, it’s been an Olympic final so it’s great we get to witness it one more time.”
Laura Robson
“I just think given Alcaraz has arguably some quicker matches, but also getting more free points on his serve. Sadly Jack [Draper] retired in the last round so he wasn’t put through it physically in that one and had more time to recover so will be fresh in that night match tomorrow. The courts are playing really lively in this heat. It will be 31 degrees tomorrow and his forehand will be kicking off.”
Justine Henin
“Djokovic doesn’t lose very often on this court and I’d like to talk about the final of the Olympic Games. I’m always impressed to see Novak in the big moments being able to do something different. The practice he did the day before that match, the precision Novak had in that practice… we didn’t know what level he was able to play but I understood during that warm-up he would be playing his best level in the final.
“It’s a different story at Grand Slams, it might be long and physical, but his capacity to be at the right moment and at the right place is just phenomenal.”
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