With no Grand Slam since the 2023 US Open and doubts even coming from Djokovic himself, questions are swirling around his future at the top. He’s still hunting an incredible 11th Australian Open title and a 25th major in Melbourne. But John McEnroe isn’t sold, raising concerns about how he matches up with the “Sincaraz” duo.

“In his heart of hearts, or in my opinion, which is, you know, not worth very much, especially to him when I’m about to say this. No. I don’t think he can hold up against and beat both of those guys when he’s already had to go through five matches. That’s the problem,” the 66-year-old said, pointing to the massive challenge Novak Djokovic faces against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Novak Djokovic, the former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, showed no signs of slowing down today as he produced a near-flawless performance to beat Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, locking up his 100th career win at Melbourne Park.

The 10-time Australian Open champion now has his sights set on passing Roger Federer’s all-time tournament record of 102 match wins, with an expected victory against younger opponent Francesco Maestrelli tomorrow. However, John McEnroe believes Djokovic’s dream run may not last much longer.

Speaking to the BBC, John McEnroe praised Jannik Sinner’s level against Novak Djokovic last year. “Never have I seen Sinner move and cover the court so effectively,” he said. “We were watching a better version of Novak Djokovic playing himself,” McEnroe added, recalling Sinner’s 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win in one hour and 55 minutes. Still, that doesn’t mean Djokovic suddenly has nothing left to offer.

The world No. 4 delivered a serving masterclass in today’s match, dropping just five points out of 57 on serve in a two-hour display of near-perfection.

The 38-year-old posted eight love holds, lost only one point in each of the second and third sets, and won a remarkable 93% of points behind his first serve, while landing 77% of his first serves. Fittingly, the 10-time champion sealed the win with his 14th ace of the night, cruising to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

On BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, Mark Woodforde even called Novak Djokovic’s serving “supreme” and “exceptional.” Djokovic, though, kept it simple afterwards.

“Tonight’s performance was great, I can’t complain about anything. I served very well,” he said. “It’s always a challenge to start a tournament the right way and send the right message to yourself and to your opponents,” Novak Djokovic added. “I have a couple of days without a match to recover my body. I’m using every hour to get in shape for the next challenge.”

As it stands, Novak Djokovic looks ready to compete and win, even if the doubts haven’t gone away. And just like John McEnroe, Pat Cash thinks Djokovic’s road to glory comes down to one thing: getting past Sinner and Alcaraz.

Novak Djokovic needs more than skill to win

“It’s a fine balance at the end of your career to find where you are training hard enough to be fit enough to last two, even three, five-set matches, but not pushing it too far,” Cash explained. “So training hard enough to be able to last that, training too hard enough that you don’t get injured.”

The Australian Open has always been one of the toughest tournaments on tour, and for years, it played right into Novak Djokovic’s strengths. His ability to handle the brutal heat and humidity helped him dominate in Melbourne, where he has won the title ten times. But this isn’t the same Djokovic from ten years ago. So how would he win?

“You need to save enough in the tank so that you don’t get worn out and then not overtraining that you get injured before you go in there,” Cash suggested.

Cash added that younger players can often grind through long five-set matches and bounce back quickly. As players get older, that recovery becomes harder. Even so, he called it “absolutely phenomenal” that Novak Djokovic is still competing at this level.

Novak Djokovic’s career hasn’t always been smooth, but he has consistently found ways to adjust and stay near the top. Now, age is the biggest opponent he faces, making recovery and rehab more important than ever.

“He’s always coming up with solutions to problems, so it will be really interesting to see how he goes at the Australian Open,” Cash said. In the end, Cash repeated that he doesn’t see Djokovic beating both Alcaraz and Sinner in back-to-back five-set matches, calling that the biggest hurdle. But the big question is… can Novak Djokovic take down ‘Sincaraz’? What do you think?