Former ATP Tour star Dmitry Tursunov has issued a stark warning to Novak Djokovic regarding his career’s longevity. Tursunov cautioned that Djokovic’s mounting injury struggles might signal the impending end of his illustrious tennis journey – a concept he referred to as “tennis death.”
Djokovic’s 2025 season has been a mixed bag. Notable moments include an impressive victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarter-finals. However, his performance was marred by an injury-induced retirement during the semi-finals against Alexander Zverev. This marked the fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament where Djokovic was unable to secure a win.
The 2024 season was also less than fruitful for the Serbian champion. It was the first time since 2017 that he failed to win at least one major title. Djokovic’s struggles continued at the Qatar Open last month, where he was defeated 7-6(4), 6-2 by Matteo Berrettini. This match was his first and only since his exit from the Australian Open.
Tursunov stated to SportKlub, “His own body is now his greatest opponent. No matter how he plans to cheat time, ‘tennis death’ will await him.” This grim prognosis for the 24-time Grand Slam champion comes as Djokovic’s 38th birthday approaches in May.
Despite these challenges, Djokovic remains determined to compete at the highest level. However, Tursunov warns that in tennis, players lose their sense of invincibility faster than in other sports, and past successes are soon forgotten.
Djokovic will kick off his Indian Wells campaign against Botic van de Zandschulp, who advanced to the second round after Nick Kyrgios retired due to an injury. Djokovic is favored to win this second-round contest, but Tursunov predicts that things could get tough if he faces the world No 3 and second seed, Carlos Alcaraz, in the projected quarter-finals.
Djokovic has previously defeated Alcaraz in their last two meetings at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and 2025 Australian Open. However, Alcaraz has twice defended his championship at Indian Wells, setting up a potentially challenging match for Djokovic.
Despite his recent struggles, Djokovic has a distinguished history at Indian Wells. The world No 7 has a joint-record five men’s singles titles under his belt. However, he hasn’t won the title since 2016 and didn’t participate in the tournament from 2019 to 2024. On his return last year, he experienced a surprise loss to Luca Nardi in the third round after defeating Aleksandar Vukic in his opener.
With Djokovic’s career at a crossroads due to injury issues, the world awaits his performance in the upcoming matches. His ability to triumph over his own body’s limitations will determine the future trajectory of his career.
