Sue Barker believes Novak Djokovic can still shatter records at the age of 37 in the wake of Rafael Nadal’s retirement – and also thinks he’ll finally win a 25th Grand Slam title.
Nadal quit the sport earlier this week after Spain were surprisingly eliminated from the Davis Cup.
The Spaniard enjoyed a glittering tennis career, winning 22 Grand Slam titles – with 14 of those victories coming on the clay court of Roland Garros at the French Open.
With Nadal now following Andy Murray and Roger Federer into retirement, Djokovic is the only one of the ‘big four’ still playing.
Sue Barker believes Novak Djokovic can still shatter records at the age of 37 in the wake of Rafael Nadal’s retirement – and also thinks he’ll finally win a 25th Grand Slam title
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And Barker, speaking on talkSPORT, has backed Djokovic to continue to shatter records by the time he hangs up his racket.
She’s also fired a warning to the rest of the players on the ATP Tour, insisting they must ‘beware’ the Serb despite his failure to win a Grand Slam in 2024.
“I think it’s records,” she said when asked why Djokovic hasn’t retired yet.
“It was a little bit like Serena Williams wanted to beat Margaret Court’s 24 Grand Slam titles. That’s Djokovic’s aim, I think.
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“But also, when we talk physically, he seems to physically be as strong now as when he started out at 18 years old.
“I don’t know how he does it. He’s like an elastic band. He gets himself in positions that no one else seems to do.
“But it’s much tougher now. There’s a lot of tougher players that have come on now, people like Jannik Sinner, who believe they can win these slams.
“And so it’s a different sort of mindset for him. And all three big rivals have gone.
“But he says he’s ready for next year. And when Djokovic says he’s ready, then beware.
“He wants to be the greatest player that’s ever played. He wants to have that record of 25 Grand Slam titles. And I’ve got a feeling he’ll do it.”
Barker also opened up on Nadal.
The 68-year-old, who won the French Open herself in 1976, thinks it is ‘very sad’ to see the icon walk away from tennis after so many years of service.
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Sue Barker remains in awe of Novak Djokovic as the tennis icon enters the twilight years of his career
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And she believes he would have won even more Grand Slam titles if the French Open didn’t take place so near to Wimbledon every year.
“It’s very, very sad, but it’s been on the cards for years,” she added.
“The injuries that he’s had, particularly with the knees, have just been taking their toll.
“But you can’t play the sort of tennis that he played and get away with it as you get older and older and I can’t believe these guys are playing up until they’re 40 years of age. I mean, we were all retired at 30!
Sue Barker has described Rafael Nadal as ‘very sad’ after the tennis icon announced his retirement
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“I think the only reason he probably didn’t win more Wimbledons in a way, is because the French Open was so close to Wimbledon.
“There’s only three weeks [between them] and to come off a tournament where you’ve got to win seven matches, best of five sets to literally do that again on a different surface just a few weeks later, I mean, it was superhuman.”