Novak Djokovic has the game to emerge victorious at Wimbledon, but he will have to overcome the young guns, says Jimmy Conners.
Djokovic is a seven-time Wimbledon champion and he will aim to equal his great rival Roger Federer’s record of eight men’s singles titles at the All England Club at this year’s tournament, which will run from June 30 to July 13.
The 38-year-old’s last triumph at Wimbledon came in 2022, when he defeated Nick Kyrgios in the championship match.
The legendary Serb was a runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz in the last two editions of Wimbledon, losing an epic five-set final in 2023 before a straight-set defeat in 2024.
Djokovic is also chasing a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title, having won his most recent major at the 2023 US Open. The world No. 5 lost to Jannik Sinner in the French Open semi-finals in the last match he played.
During an episode of the Advantage Connors podcast, Connors was asked by his son, Brett, if Djokovic can win Wimbledon this year.
“Sure? Why not? His success on all the Grand Slam surfaces has been pretty amazing, let’s face it,” said the eight-time Grand Slam champion.
“Going in, I am sure he would have loved to have got to the final there and beaten Sinner and had that confidence flowing to his game.
“But I keep telling you, that getting older and playing against these young kids is no easy task, especially in these three out of five set matches.
“It’s not the one that you win 6-4 in the fifth or 7-5 in the fourth set. It’s the ones that follow that break you down and wear you out to where you get to the quarter-finals or the semi-finals and that is where you are supposed to be starting to play your best and getting on a roll, not fighting fatigue.
“It just happens to every athlete. You can’t beat it. Because the athletes, when you get older, your competition is younger and when they come in and want to make their name like Sinner and Alcaraz, they want to use you, the older guy, as their stepping stone.
“A lot of these guys – to beat Novak and to be able to tell your kids that I beat Djokovic at Wimbledon, that’s big!”
