Tim Henman shares ‘scary’ reason why Novak Djokovic is struggling to win Grand Slams

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Novak Djokovic hasn’t won a Grand Slam title in 830 days…

The 24-time major champion last lifted one of the sport’s four biggest trophies at the 2023 US Open, where he defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.

Since then, Djokovic has lost one final and five semifinals at the Grand Slam level.

Six of those defeats came against either Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, the new dominant forces on the ATP Tour.

As many predict Djokovic to struggle against Sinner and Alcaraz again in 2026, former world number four Tim Henman has shared his thoughts.

Tim Henman says it’s ‘scary’ that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are still improving

Appearing as a guest on ‘The Tennis‘, Henman was asked if he thought Djokovic could win a Grand Slam in 2026.

“He could make another Grand Slam final, but I think he relies on someone else beating [Carlos] Alcaraz or [Jannik] Sinner,” said Henman.

“It will be interesting to see what happens with his ranking, his seeding, whether he has to play one of those, Alcaraz or Sinner, in the quarters, or if he is protected and would play them in the semis.

“But I just think it’s the physicality, the recovery when you get older, it certainly doesn’t get any easier.

“The scary thing is that Alcaraz and Sinner are getting better, given they’re 14 years younger.

“It’s a scary thought.

“Look, I feel pretty confident that unless something strange happens, it will be Alcaraz and Sinner in the final in Melbourne.”

Former Australian star Luke Saville agreed with Henman, backing Djokovic to reach a major final in 2026.

“I’ve got him making one final and two semis,” he said.

“Might be regretting that, I’m thinking he might be good for one title, one Slam.

“Feel like he’s been almost pacing himself a little bit the past few months, gearing up for the last couple of years of his career.

“Olympics in a couple of years aswell, he’s definitely prioritizing the Slams, no doubt, he says that all the time.

“I feel like Wimbledon and the AO [Australian Open] are his best chances.

“As we speak about a lot, with the Alex de Minaur situation, beating both Sinner and Alcaraz is obviously the challenge at a Grand Slam.

“If he can do that, or one of them gets knocked out, I think he has a good chance to win another one. I’ll go one final.”

Saville’s wife, and former top 20 star, Daria Saville, wasn’t quite so confident when previewing Djokovic’s 2026 Grand Slam campaign.

“I have two semifinals, but I feel like I’m very much underestimating Novak,” she said.

“I actually very much agree with what Luke said. I put down two; the least he’s going to do is two semifinals.

“That’s the worst-case scenario, that he reaches two semifinals.

“I think his best chances are the Australian Open and Wimbledon, but obviously, it will be really hard to beat Jannik in Australia.”

Sinner will, admittedly, be tough to beat in Melbourne, but it shouldn’t be forgotten just how much success Djokovic has enjoyed Down Under over the years…

Novak Djokovic’s record at the Australian Open

Djokovic has won 91% of his matches at the Australian Open.

Winning 10 titles at the event, Djokovic is the most successful player in Australian Open history.

• 2005 Australian Open – Lost in 1R to Marat Safin
• 2006 Australian Open – Lost in 1R to Paul Goldstein
• 2007 Australian Open – Lost in 4R to Roger Federer
• 2008 Australian Open – CHAMPION (Beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in F)
• 2009 Australian Open – Lost in QF to Andy Roddick
• 2010 Australian Open – Lost in QF to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
• 2011 Australian Open – CHAMPION (Beat Andy Murray in F)
• 2012 Australian Open – CHAMPION (Beat Rafael Nadal in F)
• 2013 Australian Open – CHAMPION (Beat Andy Murray in F)
• 2014 Australian Open – Lost in QF to Stan Wawrinka
• 2015 Australian Open – CHAMPION (Beat Andy Murray in F)
• 2016 Australian Open – CHAMPION (Beat Andy Murray in F)
• 2017 Australian Open – Lost in 2R to Denis Istomin
• 2018 Australian Open – Lost in 4R to Hyeon Chung
• 2019 Australian Open – CHAMPION (Beat Rafael Nadal in F)
• 2020 Australian Open – CHAMPION (Beat Dominic Thiem in F)
• 2021 Australian Open – CHAMPION (Beat Daniil Medvedev in F)
• 2023 Australian Open – CHAMPION (Beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in F)
• 2024 Australian Open – Lost in SF to Jannik Sinner
• 2025 Australian Open – Lost in SF to Alexander Zverev

Only time will tell if he can add an 11th title to his collection in 2026…

The 2026 Australian Open will begin on Sunday, January 18.