Once again at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic, who will turn 36 in May, defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is 11 years younger than him and does not seem to be going to stop. How does he manage to stay at the top for so long and still be in the middle of his fourth decade? And when will it stop?

Asked if the Serbian still has years ahead of him on the courts, Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic has no doubts: “Definitely another two or three years. His level is incredible. He is an astronaut! His brain works differently.”

Tsitsipas was one breath away from his first Grand Slam trophy on Sunday but became the fourth player who was ten years younger than Djokovic and was defeated in Melbourne Park by a 35-year-old Serb. It seems impossible for his younger rivals to beat him. Over the past four years, Djokovic has only lost five of the 45 matches he has played against players under the age of 23.

The Greek tennis player assures that it is not … “some kind of curse” that prevents the new generation from defeating Djokovic: “It’s not annoying, it’s good for the sport when there are champions like him.”

Nobody wants him to be a contender

Of course, Tsitsipas is friends with Nole and it is logical that he looks positively at his stay at the highest level. But other 20-year-olds don’t see it that way: both the Russian Andrei Rublev and the American Tommy Paul, who were knocked out by Djokovic on the latter’s path to the final in Melbourne, speak of the fear that grips the Serb, whoever he may be. to the face. “No one wants to achieve this,” Rublev admits.