The three ATP players Novak Djokovic claimed were ‘awfully close’ to winning a Grand Slam in 2021 and how they have got on since

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Novak Djokovic knows what it takes to win a Grand Slam title perhaps more than any other singles player in history.

Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam champion, with a record 10 of those titles just coming at the Australian Open.

With Andy Murray as his coach, Djokovic was bidding for an 11th title in Melbourne at the most recent Australian Open, and was able to reach the semi-finals after beating Carlos Alcaraz.

However, Djokovic retired injured against Alexander Zverev, meaning that his attempt to extend his lead in the Grand Slam history books will have to wait until at least Roland Garros.

Djokovic was forced to miss the Davis Cup qualifiers due to this hamstring problem, but has been handed some positive news since.

After undergoing a scan in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, Djokovic’s return may be sooner than first thought.

With Djokovic potentially entering the latter stages of his legendary career, it has opened the door for other players to get involved in the Grand Slam title mix.

This brings it back to 2021, when Djokovic highlighted three players who he suggested were set for Grand Slam success of their own after winning his ninth Australian Open title.

Novak Djokovic names three players who were ‘awfully close’ to major wins after 2021 Australian Open final

In the 2021 Australian Open final, Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in what was the Russian’s second major final.

Medvedev was 24-years-old at the time, the same age that Djokovic had already won six Grand Slam titles.

In his post-match press conference after winning a third consecutive title in Melbourne, Djokovic was asked about why the next generation had not been able to make the same breakthrough that he had at their age.

Djokovic answered this question by drawing comparisons to himself, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, and claimed that it was just ‘a matter of time’ before Medvedev, Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas got their hands on a Grand Slam trophy.

“Well, they have definitely the quality to reach the heights of major tournament trophies,” said Djokovic. “I mean, they’ve proven that. Dominic [Thiem] has won it in US Open.

“I think just Roger, Rafa and myself have managed to always play our best tennis at Slams. We have the experience of knowing what to do, how we can win matches in best-of-five on different surfaces. I think that’s made it more challenging for guys that are in the next generation, up-and-coming.

“I mean, Dominic has contested in several Grand Slam finals before he actually got a trophy, got a win. How long is going to take for maybe Zverev or Tsitsipas or Medvedev to do the same? I don’t know. But they seem awfully close.

“I mean, Medvedev was definitely a guy to beat today. I mean, 20-match winning streak. Tsitsipas, Zverev, Medvedev, they all won World Tour Finals, multiple Masters 1000 events and high ranking. They have all contested in semis and finals of Slams, so it’s just a matter of time. But hopefully not so close.”

How have Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas performed at Grand Slams since?

The 2021 Australian Open was Medvedev’s second time reaching a major final, after losing his first against Nadal at the 2019 US Open.

Despite the setback of losing to Djokovic in straight sets, Medvedev enacted revenge at the US Open later that year to win his first major title and prevented the Serbian from achieving what would have been a historic Calendar Grand Slam.

Medvedev has been in three further major finals since then, including two heartbreaking losses at the Australian Open.

Having led both Nadal (2022) and Jannik Sinner (2024) by two sets to love in the final, Medvedev was pegged back to be prevented from getting his hands on the hard court Grand Slam he is still yet to win.

He was unable to match that at the 2025 Australian Open, and Medvedev has spoken about retirement following a recent run of poor form.

While Medvedev has proved Djokovic right about himself, Zverev and Tsitsipas are still yet to win their maiden Grand Slam title.

Both players have reached multiple major finals since then, with Tsitsipas actually losing both of his to Djokovic.

This includes the next Grand Slam after the 2021 Australian Open, where Tsitsipas led Djokovic in the Roland Garros final by two sets to love before suffering a similar heartbreak to Medvedev.

However, over the past couple of years Tsitsipas has become less of a feature in the latter stages of major tournaments and is currently ranked outside the top 10.

Tsitsipas exited the Australian Open in the first round in 2025, and has actually only won one match at his last three Grand Slams.

On the other hand, Zverev continues to knock on the door of winning a Grand Slam title and has been in two finals over the past year.

This includes the most recent Australian Open, where Zverev was beaten by Sinner in straight sets.

However, the German has come much closer to lifting the title against Alcaraz at Roland Garros, and that aforementioned US Open final with Dominic Thiem, both matches that Zverev led before losing in five sets.

Zverev will get another chance at Roland Garros in the coming months, as Medvedev and Tsitsipas both look to return to the form that led to Djokovic singing their praises.

The main draw of Roland Garros will get underway on Sunday May 25.