Wimbledon 2025: Is this Djokovic's best chance to win one more major? - ESPN

SIX HUNDRED AND sixty-two days have passed since Novak Djokovic last won a major title.

That day, in September 2023, was a history-clinching performance at the US Open, in which he defeated Daniil Medvedev to tie Margaret Court's long-standing record for the most Grand Slam singles titles of all time with 24.

It seemed all but certain that Djokovic would eventually claim the outright record.

Since then, Rafael Nadal, his greatest rival, has retired from the sport, leaving Djokovic as the lone remaining member of the Big Three. (Roger Federer, the other member, retired in 2022.) The now 38-year-old Djokovic has reached a Wimbledon final, made three other major semifinals and even won Olympic gold, but the coveted record remains elusive. After losing to Jannik Sinner in the semifinals at the French Open last month, he was emotional as he walked off the court. He later told reporters it «could have been the last match ever» he would play at the tournament and hinted at his own retirement.

Even without mentioning his inevitable end in the sport, there already was a looming question mark over every major he played. But by making it clear that he knew it too, there's almost a countdown clock on his dream and his chance to secure tennis immortality. And now at Wimbledon, an event in which he has won seven times, many of those around the game have publicly speculated that this fortnight is his best — and perhaps final — opportunity to win major title No. 25.

Now into the third round after clinically defeating Dan Evans, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 on Thursday, and after looking mostly dominant in his first two matches, the No. 6-seeded Djokovic's play has supported this claim. And he hasn't hidden that he knows it too.

«Whether it could be my