Novak Djokovic reacts during his match
Novak Djokovic’s pursuit of history at the 2025 Australian Open remains alive as the Serbian has made it to the second week of the Melbourne major for the 17th time in his career.
The tennis legend is aiming to win a record-extending 11th Australian Open title and 25th Grand Slam crown overall.
Victory would see Djokovic, who will turn 38 in May, become the oldest major singles champion in tennis history. Australian great Ken Rosewall holds the record, having won the 1972 Australian Open less than two months after his 37th birthday.
Djokovic earned four-set victories against wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy and qualifier Jaime Faria in his first two matches.
The world No 7 then produced a superb performance to down world No 25 Tomas Machac 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in the third round on Friday. He will face Jiri Lehecka in the last 16 before a potential quarter-final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz.
Here are the thoughts of some former tennis stars and renowned pundits on Djokovic’s form after his third round win.
Martina Navratilova
“He’s been here so many times. You just see the progression, physically, emotionally, mentally. The focus, the intent. He’s exactly what he wants to be. Tested well enough, but not too much. He’s got plenty of everything in the tank and every match he’s playing a little bit better.
“This was a tough three-set match. I thought Machac was going to put up a little bit more, but Djokovic is too good.”
Lindsay Davenport
“Played much better than he did in his first two matches, he just has that sense, I mean that’s why he has won 24 [Grand Slams]. He knows when he needs to turn it on, he did so.
“Now he plays Lehecka, but I think everything in the first week for Novak, in his mind, is building towards that match with Alcaraz.”
Mats Wilander
“He was incredibly focused [against Machac]. He was serving unbelievable. He was basically in lockdown mode, it looked like.
“I mean, in the first set, it was really close. The games were really close. And I thought this might be a problem. But he won all the big points, and this is as good as I’ve seen him for quite a while now, I have to say.”
“It’s the accuracy [of Djokovic’s serve]. You know, he’s definitely not one of the fastest, the biggest servers out there. But he’s hitting his spots so well and getting a lot of cheap points behind that serve.
“And then, you know, if the ball does come back, he’s looking to really dictate with the third shot in the rally. So yeah, like Mats said, the first set there were some close games, but he always had a comfortable lead.
“The second set, I felt, was where Machac had that opportunity — was up two-love — and then, you know, Djokovic looked like he was struggling to get his breath back. There were some long, demanding, physical rallies, but he broke straight back to 2-2.
“And then, yeah, he just started dictating more and more from the back of the court. Machac probably made a few too many unforced errors.”
Laura Robson
“I think for sure that was his best match at the tournament, and he’s got to be happy. The level was ridiculous watching it courtside.”
Navratilova and Davenport shared their thoughts on Tennis Channel, while Wilander, Henman and Robson were speaking on Eurosport.
