John McEnroe details major 'problem' Novak Djokovic will encounter in 2025 & why it could be tough for Serb to win more Slams

John McEnroe recently shared his thoughts on Novak Djokovic's strategy of prioritizing Grand Slam events over other tournaments during the tennis season. In 2024, the Serb failed to secure a single title.

Djokovic's 2024 season was not a good one. He played in a select few tournaments with his best performance being him winning the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics by defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the final. This was his second Olympic medal of his career with the first one being a bronze which he won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion also finished as a runner-up at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships and the Shanghai Masters. His tennis season ended following his participation in Shanghai, as he withdrew from the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals, where he was the defending champion.

During a recent episode of the 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast, John McEnroe expressed concern about Djokovic's singular focus on trying to win only Grand Slam titles and in turn, neglecting other ATP tournaments.

The American said that for the Serb to win the Majors, he needs to play the other ATP events so that he is prepared for the big matches.

“The problem with Novak is, not that there’s a problem. I mean it’s going to be tough ‘cause he wants to just win the Majors and how do you do that when you don’t play many tournaments,” McEnroe said.

John McEnroe stated that if Novak Djokovic concentrates on other tennis tournaments in a season, he will not fumble when he faces the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the knockout stages at the Grand Slams.

“He could play [Carlos] Alcaraz in the quarters and [Jannik] Sinner in the semis the way it is ‘cause he’s seven and Alcaraz is three in the world right now so that complicates things. You know he’s got two kids, he’s got you know he’s as you said towards the end you would assume so it’s going to be difficult for him to navigate that as we saw last year,” he added.

Novak Djokovic: "My priorities are playing Grand Slams, everything else is less important"

Novak Djokovic speaking to the media [Source: Getty]

Earlier this year, during a press conference, Novak Djokovic stated that he has reached a point in his career where his focus is not on maintaining his World ranking or securing his spot at the season-ending tournament. He mentioned that he is no longer actively pursuing these goals.

"I am not chasing a place on the ATP list, nor the Final Masters. Those are not my goals, honestly. As for me, I finished my career in other tournaments . I don't know if I will play them in the future," Djokovic said

The former World No. 1 revealed that his main priorities now are representing Serbia and playing in Grand Slam tournaments, as he considers other events to be "less important."

"My priorities are playing for the national team and Grand Slams, everything else is less important. Now I need a physical, mental, and emotional rest in order to decide what and how to proceed, how much and where," he added.

Looking ahead, Novak Djokovic will begin his 2025 season at the Brisbane International which is scheduled to start on December 29, 2024, and go on until January 5, 2025. The matches will take place at the Queensland Tennis Centre.

The Serb will play doubles in the tournament alongside Nick Kyrgios, who will be making his return to the court after his absence from it for quite some time due to injuries.