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‘It stinks’: Novak Djokovic brutally assessed by Martina Navratilova after US Open semifinal loss to Carlos Alcaraz
This year, Novak Djokovic fell to semifinal defeats in all four Grand Slam events.
Age is just a number, but it was totally visible during Novak Djokovic's 2025 US Open semifinal defeat against Carlos Alcaraz, in New York on Saturday. The Serbian ace, who is already 38 years old, was a distant reflection of his glory days, when he was the fittest player in the ATP circuit. Alcaraz, who is 22, was superior in all aspects and took advantage of Djokovic's ageing fitness, often toying with him in a 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2 victory.
It was perfect revenge for the Spaniard as he avenged his recent losses to Djokovic at this year's 2024 Australian Open and 2024 Paris Olympics. The age factor has been a huge weakness for Djokovic this season, as he has had to battle fitness issues and has also spoken about retirement plenty of times.
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This year, Djokovic fell to semifinal defeats in all four Grand Slam events. Dissecting Djokovic's 2025 performance, tennis legend Martina Navratilova felt that it must be 'frustrating' for the Serbian.
While speaking to Sky Sports, she said, "It stinks. I went through it. The effort is the same, you feel the same. I didn’t feel that much slower, but you play the right point and you miss it, when you could have made it with your eyes closed 10 years ago. It’s frustrating."
"He needs help from someone now to win because to beat Alcaraz and Sinner, that’s too much," she added.
Meanwhile after his defeat to Alcaraz, Djokovic also conceded that it is going to be 'difficult' for him to beat the Spaniard or Jannik Sinner at Majors.
"It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner, Alcaraz, in the best-of-five on the Grand Slams. I think I have a better chance best of three, but best of five, it's tough," he said.
The result also saw Alcaraz improve to 4-5 against Djokovic in their ATP head-to-head record.
