There is huge curiosity about Novak Djokovic, who has not played any official match in 2026 yet and has given up the Adelaide ATP 250.
The Serbian legend was supposed to participate in a tournament before the start of the Australian Open, but he didn't feel at the top of his shape yet and showed up directly in Melbourne for the first Major of the new season.
Although he is no longer the benchmark of the men's tour, the former world number 1 can never be underestimated in a Grand Slam tournament and in particular at the Australian Open. The 38-year-old from Belgrade has triumphed at Melbourne Park on ten occasions and has also reached the semifinals in the last two editions, having many regrets for the match against Alexander Zverev staged last year.
Nole had eliminated Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals and everyone was convinced that he could hit another final at the AO, but a physical problem prevented him from continuing the match against Sascha and he had to retire at the end of the first set.
Nole finished 2025 ranked fourth in the world
Despite having a very reduced schedule even in 2025, Novak still finished the season in the Top 5 of the ATP rankings and has shown that he is inferior only to Sinner and Alcaraz when he is really motivated.
During the latest edition of his podcast, former ATP ace Greg Rusedski confessed that he disagrees with those who have negatively judged Nole's 2025: “Oh, well, he won his 100th ATP title on top of that, he made four semifinals of majors, finished number four in the world.
And on top of that, he didn’t even play a full season. So, at 38 years of age, to do that is just quite incredible, and yes, he’s not playing Adelaide, and he’s going straight into the Australian Open, but never discount a great champion, and if he’s enjoying playing, he’s going to continue. Most players don’t even make one semifinal in their careers. He’s definitely well above mediocrity.”
