It wasn’t to be for Novak Djokovic in New York as he fell at the semifinal stage of a Grand Slam once again.
After losing in the semifinals of the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in 2025, Djokovic returned to the final four at Flushing Meadows.
Hoping to improve his record in 2025 major semifinals to 1-3, Djokovic took on his ‘new’ Spanish rival, Carlos Alcaraz.
The pair provided some great entertainment on Arthur Ashe Stadium, but it was youth that prevailed in the end, as Alcaraz defeated a fatigued Djokovic in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.
Reacting to the Serbian legend’s defeat, Martina Navratilova picked the shot that let Djokovic down during the semifinal.
Martina Navratilova says Novak Djokovic’s backhand let him down against Carlos Alcaraz
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Navratilova gave her verdict on Djokovic’s straight-sets defeat.
“It was a lot more intense than it needed to be because Carlos [Alcaraz] had 0-30 a bunch of times in the second set and Novak [Djokovic] kept hanging in there,” she said.
“The ball was hit really hard, but there weren’t that many great rallies.
“The backhand was not quite cutting it, and I think he is not used to not being able to win more points against the first serve of Carlos. It was 85% [84] of points won when he got the first serve in.
| Player | Aces | Double faults | 1st Serve % | Win % on 1st Serve | Win % on 2nd Serve |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 7 | 2 | 56% | 84% | 57% |
| Novak Djokovic | 4 | 5 | 60% | 66% | 56% |
“Normally, it is Novak who does not give people room to breathe, but now it’s Alcaraz.
“The tables have turned. I think Novak was feeling stressed and just could not really find an opening.”
Navratilova believes Djokovic is currently struggling with the same issues she faced during the latter stages of her career.
“It stings. I went through it,” she said.
“The effort is the same, and you feel the same, but the biggest thing is I had to remind myself that if it was a drop shot, you’d better run.
“Whereas ten years ago, you just ran; you didn’t have to think about it.
“So it’s not that you are just that much slower, but your reaction is still there, so it’s like I have got to go. So you play the right shot and you miss it, when you could have made it with your eyes closed ten years ago.
“So it gets frustrating because the effort is there, you are feeling pretty good, but the result is not.”
The results haven’t been bad for Djokovic in 2025, by any means, but that’s not to say he won’t be slightly disappointed with his Grand Slam campaign.
Novak Djokovic finishes the year without reaching a Grand Slam final for the first time since 2017
Reaching the semifinals of all four majors in 2025, Djokovic surprisingly failed to advance to a single final.
His defeat to Alcaraz confirmed Djokovic’s fifth-ever Grand Slam final-less season.
2005
- Australian Open – Lost in 1R
- French Open – Lost in 2R
- Wimbledon – Lost in 3R
- US Open – Lost in 3R
2006
- Australian Open – Lost in 1R
- French Open – Lost in QF
- Wimbledon – Lost in 4R
- US Open – Lost in 3R
2009
- Australian Open – Lost in QF
- French Open – Lost in 3R
- Wimbledon – Lost in QF
- US Open – Lost in SF
2017
- Australian Open – Lost in 2R
- French Open – Lost in QF
- Wimbledon – Lost in QF
- US Open – Did not play
2025
- Australian Open – Lost in SF
- French Open – Lost in SF
- Wimbledon – Lost in SF
- US Open – Lost in SF
The Serb seems to have found himself in a peculiar position, where he remains one of the best players on the ATP Tour, but can’t quite compete with the world number one and two.
At the French Open and Wimbledon, Djokovic lost to Jannik Sinner, and he has now fallen to Alcaraz in New York.
Aged 38, the worry is that the gap will only widen between Djokovic and his two younger rivals over the next few years.
Djokovic has, however, proven how dangerous it can be to count him out throughout his career, and will no doubt return with a point to prove in 2026, searching for the elusive 25th Grand Slam.
The Serb is likely to return to Grand Slam action at the 2026 Australian Open, which will begin on Monday, January 12.
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