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John Isner thinks there is only one tennis tournament Novak Djokovic actually cares about winning nowadays

Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Matteo Arnaldi of Italy during the Mutua Madrid Open and John Isner attends a press conference at the US...
Credit: Photo By Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press/Maria Velez/VIEWpress/Getty Images
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Novak Djokovic has suffered some uncharacteristic defeats in 2025 including at the Madrid Open.

Djokovic was beaten by Matteo Arnaldi in Madrid, having now lost his opening match in four of his last five tournaments.

The only time that he did not lose his opening match was when Djokovic reached the Miami Open final, before losing to Jakub Mensik.

Due to the recent form of the 24-time Grand Slam champion, there have been some big questions over Djokovic’s future.

Mutua Madrid Open - Day Five
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

John Isner thinks there is only one tournament Novak Djokovic cares about

It is no secret that Grand Slam tournaments are the priority for 37-year-old Djokovic, who has openly admitted this on multiple occasions.

The next major tournament is Roland Garros, but former top 10 player John Isner believes that Wimbledon is the only event that Djokovic now cares about.

“It is really hard for us to say but I think he only cares about Wimbledon at this point,” Isner said on the Nothing Major Podcast. “It is very hard for him to win Roland Garros and maybe he might even understand that now.

“Three out of five sets over two weeks on clay, with all the great players, with [Jannik] Sinner coming back – it is very unlikely. It is not his best surface to begin with, he is playing poorly on it right now.

“He was very frustrated on the practice court in Madrid. I don’t know if you guys saw but he just had a frustrated moment on the practice court, which we have all had, but it’s pretty amazing to see from the guy who has completed the game of tennis.

“He still wants more and that is so admirable. He is still getting frustrated on the practice court and wants to continue to get better and try and compete for these big tournaments like in Madrid. That obviously did not happen this week or in Monte Carlo. He will play Rome and the French Open and gear up for Wimbledon.

“I think give him another day and he will put this loss behind him and we all know that his goals for the rest of his career are to try and win another Grand Slam, which would be ridiculous for him to do at 37 or 38 years old.”

Can Novak Djokovic win another Grand Slam?

Djokovic won the 2023 US Open, which was his last major victory where he made history by lifting a 24th Grand Slam title.

2023 US Open - Day 14
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Although he has been out of form on the tour, Djokovic has mostly been producing his best tennis at the majors.

Since winning the US Open nearly two years ago, Djokovic has reached at least the quarter-final of four of his last five Grand Slam tournaments.

Two of these major tournaments for Djokovic have been concluded by injury, including at the most recent Australian Open where he retired against Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals.

Grand SlamDjokovic’s ResultMatch that Djokovic lost
Australian Open 2024Semi-finalJannik Sinner beat Djokovic, 6-1 6-2 6(8)-7 6-3
Roland Garros 2024Quarter-finalDjokovic gave Casper Ruud a walkover due to injury
Wimbledon 2024FinalCarlos Alcaraz beat Djokovic, 6-2 6-2 7-6(4)
US Open 2024Third RoundAlexei Popyrin beat Djokovic, 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4
Australian Open 2025Semi-finalAlexander Zverev beat Djokovic, 7-6(5) (Djokovic retired)

Djokovic will look to return to winning ways at his next tournament at the Italian Open, where Jannik Sinner will return to tennis after his three month ban.

The main draw of the ATP tournament in Rome will get underway on Wednesday May 7.