Novak Djokovic holds the Open Era record with 24 major titles in his career. Yet, he’s still aiming for that elusive 25th title as he’s been halted from winning a major the last couple years. He last won at the 2023 U.S. Open, and he last made a final at 2024 Wimbledon.
Who’s been in his way? None other than Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who have notably cemented themselves as the next generation of men’s tennis stars after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.
Djokovic will face Sinner in the Australian Open semifinal on Friday for a chance to reach a major final once again. If he wins, he could face Alcaraz in the final. These two players continue to pop up as obstacles for Djokovic attempting to win a record 25th major. But, he doesn’t want people to think their current dominance is a difficulty for him.
After his quarterfinal walkover, Djokovic was asked by a reporter if he could compare his former chasing of Federer and Nadal to what he feels now “chasing” Alcaraz and Sinner. Djokovic quickly shut down this narrative, emphasizing how he’s not the one chasing them when he has 24 major titles.
Here’s his iconic back-and-forth with the reporter.
“I’m chasing Jannik and Carlos? In which sense?” Djokovic interrupted when being asked the initial question.
“So I’m always the chaser and never been chased?” Djokovic said again. “No. in the meantime you’ve won 24 grand slams,” the reporter replied. “Thanks, it’s worth saying that sometimes right?” Djokovic said.
“I find if a little bit disrespectful that you kind of miss out on what happened in between where the times when I started ‘chasing’ as you say Rafa and Roger and now that I’m chasing Carlos and Jannik. There’s probably about a 15-year period in between where I was dominating the grand slams. I think it’s important to put that in perspective. I don’t feel like I’m chasing, to be honest. Roger and Rafa will always be my greatest rivals. I have tremendous respect for what Jannik and Carlos are doing and they will continue to do and they will do for the next 10, 15, 20 years. ... This is a kind of natural cycle in sports. You’re going to have another two superstars that are going to maybe have another third guy that I’m going to cheer for, because I’ve always been the third guy at the beginning. It’s good for our sport. I think these kind of rivalries and the contrast of personalities and the styles of play are very good for tennis. And how is that effecting me? As I said, I don’t feel like I’m chasing. I’m creating my own history.”
Novak Djokovic says he is not chasing Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, he is creating his own history
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 28, 2026
“In the early part of your career when you were chasing Roger & Rafa for titles… and now at the back of your career, you’re chasing Jannik & Carlos…”
Novak: “I’m chasing… pic.twitter.com/toRU9CPykB
What a mic drop response from Djokovic.
If Alcaraz wins the Australian Open this weekend, he will become the youngest men’s player to complete his career grand slam. The previous record holder was Nadal. Sinner has the chance to finish his career grand slam at the French Open in a few months. It’s clear Alcaraz and Sinner are the history makers of this generation of tennis players, but that doesn’t erase the incredible achievements the Big Three accomplished beforehand, as Djokovic lays out above.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Novak Djokovic Drops Iconic Line to Question About Chasing Alcaraz, Sinner.
