Novak Djokovic also shut down retirement talks in a fiery press conference before the Australian Open 2026 as he talked about his chances of winning another Grand Slam.
Novak Djokovic sounded the alarm loud and clear for Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on the eve of the Australian Open 2026 as he said that he has the ‘self-belief’ and ‘confidence’ that he can beat anyone to win the first Grand Slam of the year. The 28-year-old Djokovic is gunning for an elusive 25th major title. His last Grand Slam win was at the US Open 2023.
Sinner and Alcaraz have won all the men’s singles Grand Slam trophies since the start of 2024, and a majority of fans and experts feel that one of the young stars would win the Australian Open 2026. But Djokovic has never been the one to go down without a fight.
Djokovic delivers fiery press conference for Aus Open 2026
In a fiery press conference, Djokovic said that if thing goes well for him, he can beat Alcaraz and Sinner and win the Australian Open.
“I know that when I’m healthy, when I’m able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together on a given day, I feel like I can beat anybody. If I don’t have that self-belief and confidence in myself, I wouldn’t be sitting here and talking to you guys or competing,” Djokovic said.
“I understand that Sinner and Alcaraz are playing on a different level right now… but that doesn’t mean that nobody else has a chance. So I like my chances always, in any tournament, particularly here.”
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While acknowledging that fitness would be key, Djokovic reminded that he was the third-best player last year despite his growing age.
“I’m missing a little bit of juice in my legs, to be honest, to be able to compete with these guys at the later stages of a Grand Slam,” said Djokovic. “But I’m definitely giving my best as I have in ‘25, and I think I have done very well and challenged them on their route to the title.
Novak Djokovic says Jannik Sinner & Carlos Alcaraz are playing on a different level than everybody else right now, but he still believes he can beat anybody on a given day
“I had a great win against Carlos in the quarters last year. I know that when I’m healthy, when I’m able to… pic.twitter.com/0pEU4sOpfL
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 17, 2026
“I lost three out of four slams against either Sinner or Alcaraz… We know how good they are, and they absolutely deserve to be where they are. They are the dominant forces of the men’s tennis at the moment. I’m still trying to be in the mix.”
Djokovic also shut down the retirement talks. “I’m still number four in the world, still competing at the highest level, and I feel like there is no need to draw the attention to that (retirement) discussion.”
Novak Djokovic’s first match of Australian Open 2026 is against Pedro Martinez on Spain on Monday.
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