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Novak Djokovic at 36 years of age might be the best version of himself yet.
That's according to former World No. 1 Mats Wilander, who has been impressed with the Serbian superstar's recent performances at Grand Slams and his aggression in particular.
“To me, Novak Djokovic is not just the best ever compared to other people, for me in 2023 we have seen the best version of Novak Djokovic,” Wilander told Eurosport. “The way he won the Australian Open was incredible, he was hitting the forehand harder than he ever has before, was it because he had a bit of a nagging injury in his right leg, did he relax more? I don’t think so.
“Then at the French Open and the way he played there in the semi-finals against Carlos Alcaraz, absolutely incredible. Same thing, dictating at 36 years old. Is it an age thing and he’s realized he needs to be more aggressive because he is not going to rebound after long matches the same as when he was 26? With this he is a better player and hits the ball harder.”
But it's not just the aggression — Wilander also believes the 23-time Grand Slam winner is displaying more tennis IQ than ever before while he believes every other aspect of his game has improved other than his movement.
“He is also getting smarter and smarter, and he was already smart as a young player,” Wilander explained. “The tennis IQ is coming out more in his game. Every aspect of his game seems a bit better now than it’s ever been, maybe not the movement because of the age, but for me he is not just the best in the men’s side, but the best version of himself.”
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Wilander also used the example of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to explain how Djokovic has evolved as he gets older and better.
“I think you have to compare with Roger and Rafa [Nadal],” Wilander added. “Unfortunately, Roger towards the end of his career his last match was at Wimbledon and he lost the last set 6-0. Federer looked a bit slow in that match.
“When Nadal came back and won the Australian Open last year that was an unbelievable effort that I wasn’t sure we were going to see. It took some time for him to come back and I wasn’t sure, he showed his age at times, but experience got him over the line against Medvedev. Then he comes and wins the French Open and he is so good again.
“It’s been a rollercoaster for him at times but it’s natural, you can see he’s slowing down at times a bit. He’s also changed his game to play more aggressively. With Novak there’s no difference, the movement is similar, he looks the same, body wise he is stronger, he is basically the best-ever version of himself.”
It's definitely worth debating.
Most would regard Djokovic's 2011 season as his greatest, but as things stand, Djokovic is on course to surpassing it — especially if he can achieve the elusive calendar slam.
Djokovic is currently in the semifinal at Wimbledon where he'll play Jannik Sinner next.
