Motivation will be one of the biggest opponents for Djokovic next year, as he admitted he was losing the desire to compete at the highest level of the game for large parts of this year. His decision not to play in ATP Masters events and not to take up his place in the ATP Finals in Turin was partly due to injury and may also have been due to his lack of appetite to play. Murray’s arrival in his team for the Australian Open may give him the bolt of inspiration he needs to reach for more and as he proved when he won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris last summer, a motivated Djokovic is a potent threat to any player in the game.
Novak Djokovic has made it clear that he will not play a full tournament schedule in the final phase of his career, but former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash has told Tennis365 that his plan may be flawed.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion failed to add to his haul of major titles in 2024, with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz claiming the biggest titles in men’s tennis as the Djokovic era appeared to come to an end.
Djokovic has insisted he is still motivated to challenge for more Grand Slam titles and his surprise move to hire Andy Murray as his coach for the Australian Open confirmed he is still striving to make improvements to his game at the age of 37.
Now Cash has given his verdict on Djokovic’s plan to be a ‘part-time’ tennis player, as he suggested the eagerness to avoid injuries needs to be balanced with match sharpness that is essential for success in the latter stages of a Grand Slam.
In an exclusive interview with Tennis365 in his role as an ambassador for the Bank of China Hong Kong Open 2025.
“Older players fall into this trap every time that they are trying to save their body and they don’t always get a good balance on playing enough matches,” Cash told Tennis365.
“You tend to see older players start to lose five-set matches or have more bad days and that’s natural.
“That’s match toughness. I know Novak has played a lot of matches over the course of his career, but he still needs to be match-tough going into a best-of-five-set Grand Slam tournament.
“We often say you can’t afford to get into tough five-set matches in the first week of a Slam as you need to stay fresh and that’s especially true when you get older.
“If you don’t have enough matches under your belt and you play a long one early on, I tell you what, you are going to be so sore.
“Andy has had a lot of injuries, but he always tried to play a lot of tournaments through to the end of his career and for me, that’s the big secret for Novak in the next year. If he can get his schedule right and make sure he has the right number of matches under his belt, he can win again.”
Djokovic’s move to hire Murray as his coach for what may be his final attempt to win an 11th Australian Open title has been one of the big talking points in tennis over the last few weeks, with Cash suggesting the move could work for both parties.
“I love it, I think it’s awesome,” he added. “They talk the same game, they are both incredibly professional. They are both great at analysing opponents and obviously, Andy is fresh off the tour so he knows the players really well and it will keep Novak motivated.
“I just hope Andy gets the opportunity to do some pre-season work with him because that’s what he needs to make an impact.”
Motivation will be one of the biggest opponents for Djokovic next year, as he admitted he was losing the desire to compete at the highest level of the game for large parts of this year.
His decision not to play in ATP Masters events and not to take up his place in the ATP Finals in Turin was partly due to injury and may also have been due to his lack of appetite to play.
Murray’s arrival in his team for the Australian Open may give him the bolt of inspiration he needs to reach for more and as he proved when he won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris last summer, a motivated Djokovic is a potent threat to any player in the game.
