Novak Djokovic gets real about similarities between veterans LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo & himself

Novak Djokovic, who has firmly established himself as one of the greatest athletes in the world, has opened up about what connects him with fellow sporting icons Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James. The one major commonality Djokovic notes is that each of them is playing at the top level despite crossing the age of 40.

Djokovic, now 37, is the last standing member of tennis’ “Big Four” and has the most Grand Slam titles among male players. Yet, he continues to push his limits and take on much younger opponents in his quest for ultimate glory. The Serbian legend needs just one more Grand Slam title to become the first player in tennis history to win 25 majors.

In a recent interview with Montenegrin newspaper Vijesti, Djokovic delved into the similarities between him, Ronaldo and LeBron.

“Each of us is different and unique in our own way. I admire them immensely and respect their sporting successes, and I had the opportunity to train with some of them and spend private time with them to exchange some words about methods, recovery, mental and psychophysical preparation, the way of observing sports, profession, the world and so on…” said Djokovic.

The Serbian shares a mutual admiration with Ronaldo and had earlier said the Portuguese superstar was someone he “identified with”. Novak Djokovic and Ronaldo had a training session together in 2019 and he had also recreated Ronaldo’s “Siuuuu” celebration at the 2024 Indian Wells.

Djokovic continued that a player’s approach to the sport changes once they turn 40 as they pay closer attention to every minute detail of their craft.

“That's where I realized that we have a lot of common ground through mentalities, through approach and championship mentality and I think that every name you listed tends to be better today than they were yesterday, regardless of age. LeBron and Ronaldo are both 40, they have entered their fifth decade and are still playing at the top level, which is impressive. Why is that?

“My somewhat subjective feeling is that the older you get, the more you have to work, the more attention you pay to details and all the elements of improvement in order to be able to keep up with the younger beasts who are racing and who will do anything to beat you and win trophies,” he added.

Ronaldo has also reciprocated the love and has attended Djokovic’s matches during his time in Spain. In a recent video, Ronaldo found himself in a fix while playing a game of ‘This or That’ and could not pick between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. He eventually played it safe and chose both players.

Novak Djokovic likely to play in Qatar Open after injury at Australian Open

Novak Djokovic acknowledges the crowd at the Australian Open 2025. Source: Getty

Novak Djokovic was on course to win his 25th Grand Slam title and become the first-ever to clinch a record 11 Australian Open titles, but his campaign was curtailed by a hamstring injury. Djokovic had played a near-perfect tournament and earned a phenomenal win over third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinal before facing Alexander Zverev for a spot in the final.

However, in a cruel twist of fate, Djokovic withdrew from the match after losing the first set and later revealed that he had suffered a tear in his hamstring. The Serbian has taken a break from the circuit since then and while it was feared that he may be sidelined for a while, but latest reports suggest that he could be in action at the Qatar Open, which is set to begin on February 17.

Novak Djokovic had also recently swatted away rumours about his retirement, saying he had no intentions to leave the sport just yet.

"Publicly and privately, many people have told me that they think it's best for me to leave when I'm at my peak, which I understand, don't get me wrong, I understand that. But if I'm still physically able and I feel like I can beat the best players at a Grand Slam – why would I want to stop now?" he said to Sportal.blic.rs.

Djokovic has endured a tough start to 2025 but will hope to find his winning touch when he hits the courts again in Doha.