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<\/p>\nTwo of Australia\u2019s former tennis players have sung the praises of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, and explained why he’s more complete than his arch rival Rafael Nadal. The Serbian goes into the 2024 season in great form, having captured the 2023 Australian Open, French Open, and the U.S. Open.<\/p>\n
He has regained the top spot in the rankings and is the favorite to finish the year as the world\u2019s top player. At the age of 36, Djokovic is playing some of his best tennis and he is showing no signs of slowing down, despite being in the latter part of his career.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons for his continued excellence was his ability to form an all-round game without any significant weaknesses that opponents could exploit. This is something the former World No. 15 Wally Masur believes he has managed to do better than other players – including his biggest rivals Roger Federer and Nadal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at players, most of them do a few things really well but they\u2019ve also got holes that you can exploit or they\u2019ve got days where they don\u2019t mentally have the resolve,\u201d Masur said. \u201cBut Novak seems to be in control of everything. He\u2019s always had an amazing backhand, but his forehand is now world-class because he\u2019s worked on it.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s had troubles in the past with his serve, but he\u2019s nailed it down pat. Physically, he\u2019s got himself to an awesome level of speed, agility and endurance. And then he\u2019s got this mindset where the more you push him and the harder you poke him, the better he gets.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got this siege mentality where he doesn\u2019t care what the odds are against him or what the narrative is because he\u2019s so complete on every surface.\u201d Djokovic will return to Australia in late December when he will represent Serbia in the United Cup, before defending his Australian Open title in mid-January of 2024.<\/p>\n
He will compete for a record-extending 11th title at Melbourne Park and 25th major, which would move him one ahead of Australia’s Margaret Court. Giving an early prediction for the tournament, former Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis thinks it is hard to look past Djokovic winning the event once again.<\/p>\n
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