The margin was not close. In the Express Sport reader poll, 80 per cent of respondents said Djokovic will not win a 25th Grand Slam, against 17 per cent who still back him and 3 per cent unsure.

The poll went out after Djokovic’s China Open title in Beijing on 5 October, his first ATP title of 2026 and a reminder that at 39 the Serbian can still outlast the field at tour level. Tour-level titles are not Slams, and the readers made the distinction clearly.

Djokovic has not won a major since the 2023 US Open. He reached his 38th Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in January and lost in four sets to Carlos Alcaraz.

‘He is far from the favourite’

Sasa Ozmo, who covers Djokovic closely for Sport Klub and Clay, told Express Sport in January that Melbourne is still the Serbian’s best bet because of his record 10 titles there, but he stopped short of a prediction.

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“He is 39 in May, so it’s getting harder and harder,” Ozmo said.

“He is far from the favourite.”

The qualifier Ozmo added is the central problem: Djokovic’s chances rise “if the draw opens up a bit, if he doesn’t have to beat both Alcaraz and Sinner.” Across 2024, 2025 and 2026 so far, Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev have shared every Grand Slam between them.

Sock sees no more Slam finals in 2026

Former world No 8 Jack Sock went further on the Nothing Major podcast in February.

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“I don’t think he’s making another final this year, in my opinion,” Sock said.

Sock’s call has aged well. Djokovic went out in the third round at Roland Garros to João Fonseca, lost to Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals, and crashed out in the first round of the US Open to Mariano Navone. No more Slam finals in 2026.

The push for Turin before Melbourne

Djokovic’s immediate target is not Melbourne but Turin. He sat ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin on 2,840 points on 7 October 2026, inside the final qualification spot, with Alex de Minaur on 2,690 and eighth-placed Daniil Medvedev on 3,020, according to the ATP’s own tracker.

He has not played the year-end event since 2023 and has said he would like to return.

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The 2026 ATP Finals run 15-22 November at the Inalpi Arena in Turin. The 2027 Australian Open follows in mid-January, with the draw and seeding yet to be set.

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