McEnroe raises Djokovic concerns in Australian Open | Tennis | Sport

John McEnroe has expressed concerns that Novak Djokovic may not be physically able to compete with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open. Djokovic, 38, a 10-time champion in Melbourne, got his 2026 Australian Open campaign underway on Monday with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win against Spaniard Pedro Martinez. 

It was an accomplished performance from the Serbian, who showed his class to brush aside the world No.95 in straight sets. Despite this, McEnroe has still raised worries about Djokovic’s capabilities to compete against Alcaraz and Sinner – currently ranked as the two top players in the ATP rankings – in Australia.

Djokovic is the world No.4 but McEnroe isn’t quite sure he can Alcaraz and Sinner in the latter stages. “In his heart of hearts and in my opinion, no,” McEnroe said, when asked about the prospect of Djokovic facing the duo.

“I don’t think he can beat both of those guys when he has already had to go through five matches – that’s the problem. That’s the reality he has talked about.

“A lot of people might think, ‘Why are you still going at this point, you haven’t won in a couple of years and you are so used to winning?’ Why not, would be the question?

“In my book, he is No.3 in the world. He made four semis last year and beat Alcaraz here. He must think he can still win this otherwise because he won’t play unless he thinks he can win, which is tougher because he doesn’t play much.”

After hinting that Djokovic could consider retiring, McEnroe believes the Belgrade-born star deserves his moment in the sun.

“He was like Ivan Drago [from the Rocky films] with Nadal and Federer, who were so popular, and then along comes Alcaraz and everyone loves him. He [Djokovic] is like, ‘Where is my love? I deserve it.’ And he does deserve it.

“He has been an unbelievable positive for our game and his record speaks for itself. He has always been extremely intelligent and the other players love him. So strut yourself, Novak, and enjoy every minute of it.”

Djokovic’s first round clash against Martinez was his first competitive match since early October 2025, when he won his 101st career title in Athens. He began the new year by withdrawing from Adelaide, saying he was not “physically ready to compete”.

Tim Henman feels that the physical aspect could be the greatest test for Djokovic. “When you reflect on his consistency last year in the Slams, he was absolutely brilliant and it took the two best players to defeat him, and he beat Alcaraz here [in Melbourne],” Henman said.

“I am fascinated to see where his level is at from a tennis point of view, but also a physical point of view, because it’s only going to get harder as he gets older, and best of five is challenging.

“You think about all his training routine and nutrition, he has raised the bar, but the challenge is trying to improve. It’s very difficult to improve when you are that good and his movement can’t be as good.

“If you don’t move as well, you probably have to take more risks from the back of the court and play more aggressively.”

Next up for Djokovic at the Australian Open is Italian Francesco Maestrelli in the second round on Wednesday.