Can Novak Djokovic win his 25th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon 2024?

Novak Djokovic has frequently made the extraordinary seem ordinary over the course of his career. His record of winning 24 Grand Slams and accumulating more than 420 weeks as the world No. 1 are gargantuan feats, which have appeared somewhat within the fathomable range only because he has shared his era with two other giants of the game: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

However, Father Time ultimately catches up with everyone and seems to have done the same with Djokovic, although somewhat belatedly. The injury he suffered in his right knee in the fourth round of the French Open against Francisco Cerundolo forced him out of the tournament. However, he has apparently recovered from it and will play at Wimbledon.

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Novak Djokovic has probably overachieved on grass

Make no mistake about it, the 37-year-old Serb is a great player on any surface or any condition. However, seven Wimbledon titles probably do more than justice to his prowess on grass. His dominance at the All England Club during the past decade or so can be attributed to a few factors aside from his undeniable ability as a player.

Firstly, there are very few players these days, who are comfortable playing on grass. As Federer and Andy Murray aged, Djokovic only had to deal with the Matteo Berrettinis and Kevin Andersons primarily to assert his influence on grass. With due respect to Berrettini, Anderson, and Nick Kyrgios, they are much less of a threat than Federer, Nadal, or Murray.

Secondly, although Djokovic beat Federer thrice at Wimbledon, he did so in the latter's twilight years. The last of those three matches saw Federer squander a couple of match points. The point remains that Novak Djokovic benefitted considerably from Roger Federer's decline as a player.

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Can the current generation stop Novak Djokovic?

Alcaraz certainly did last year, prevailing in the final in a pulsating five-setter. The 21-year-old tennis sensation from Spain recently won his third Grand Slam at Roland Garros. He will be one of the favorites at Wimbledon, too.

His contemporary and arch-rival, Jannik Sinner, is not quite as comfortable playing on grass as he is on hard courts. Still, he will be there as a threat to Djokovic. Sinner has improved his net game a lot, but it is probably not at an elite level yet. The Italian is the world No. 1 now, but Alcaraz is probably a bit better than him outside of hard courts.

However, aside from the above two none of the other players seems to have the game to beat a fully-fit Novak Djokovic on grass. A few of them can come close, but do not seem to have the total package, including the mental toughness to beat the Serb in the best-of-five format.

Hence, the Serb's fitness will be a major factor in determining whether he can win the title. Only Alcaraz seems to be standing in his way towards a 25th Major, provided Djokovic is fully fit.