Novak Djokovic: Stefan Edberg and Billie Jean King on the Serb’s 2025

Jannik Sinner is 23 years old, and Alcaraz is 21 years old. When your competitors are that good, it takes years to gain acceptance.

But in the last decade Grand Slam titles have regularly been won by great players in their mid-thirties, and Edberg has played his part.

The Swede was part of Roger Federer’s coaching team in 2014 and 2015, and Djokovic’s fire sure still burns bright.

He said, “There are a lot of guys around these guys and they love being out there. Especially with Novak trying to set a lot of records, I think that’s a lot of motivation.”

“He’s still extremely fit, so this will at least give him a chance, even if it’s really difficult this time.”

When talking to Edberg it’s clear that top players no longer feel any psychological barriers to winning in their thirties. While the length of the season remains brutal, he says better scheduling helps.

“If I look back at my career, I think the thing that bothered me in a lot of ways was playing Davis Cup,” he said.

“We went to six Davis Cup finals in a row – it meant playing until December and then starting the season.

“When I look back it really cut my career short. Physically, I could have played for another five years.

“At the time I was playing, the chances of winning a Slam at the age of 30 or 31 were very slim. That has changed now.”

After one more appearance in the Davis Cup finals, Edberg retired in December 1996 at the age of 30.