By Ross Kelly
Anytime you witness one of your peers ride off into the sunset, it puts you in a reflective mood about your future. That was the case for Novak Djokovic this week on the eve of the 2025 French Open.
The 24-time major winner, along with contemporaries Roger Federer and Andy Murray, gathered together in Paris to commemorate the career of 14-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal, who retired last year, during a ceremony on Sunday.
Collectively known as The Big Four, it’s now just a Big One with Djokovic the last active player among them. Nadal left the group in November 2024 when he called it a career at 38 years old. With Djokovic now the same age, and no longer the player he once was, he admitted that retiring is something that crossed his mind while watching Nadal’s send-off at Roland-Garros.
“Honestly, I was thinking about my end of the road as well yesterday when we were watching Rafa having his speech,” Djokovic told reporters on Monday. “Particularly those moments when we were in the back room, the three of us, and I was just, yeah, obviously talking to Federer and Murray about their goodbyes and reminiscing and reflecting on the rivalries.
“Of course, part of me is proud that I’m still there, that I’m still going. But at the same time, I was, and I still am, a bit sad that they’re all gone because those guys were my greatest motivations for why I competed so intensely and for so long.”
Djokovic surpassed the other members of the quartet with regard to major titles. His 24 are the most Grand Slams in men’s singles history, while Nadal is second with 22, Federer is third with 20, and Murray—who is sometimes left out of the discussion, making it a Big Three instead of a Big Four—won three Grand Slams.
The Serbian also holds head-to-head advantages over the other three. His all-time record versus Nadal is 31–29, while versus Federer it is 27–23. It’s much more lopsided versus Murray at 25–11.
While Nadal is the unquestioned King of Clay and dominated the Grand Slam unlike any other tennis player has dominated any other major tournament, Djokovic did get the best of the Spaniard on a couple of occasions at the French Open. Nadal holds an amazing 112–4 record at the French Open, but half of those four defeats were to Djokovic. Alexander Zverev and Robin Soderling were the only other players to get a match off Nadal at Roland-Garros.
Perhaps what Djokovic happened to accomplish the day before Nadal’s ceremony also put him in a reflective mood as he reached a personal milestone—one which indicates just how long he’s been playing the game of tennis. On Saturday, Djokovic won the Geneva Open in Switzerland to collect his 100th career singles title. His 99th came at the 2024 Summer Olympics—also at Roland-Garros—so he had to wait over nine months to reach 100.
The tournament victory also came just two days after his 38th birthday and created a new Big Three category in tennis. Djokovic became the third man to win 100 singles titles, joining Jimmy Connors (109) and Federer (103).
Djokovic also revealed that he’d like to have the type of ceremony that Nadal received one day. But he also said he doesn’t have a set date as to when he will hang up the racket and call it a career.
“Each one of us dreams of being remembered in such a way and celebrated, of course,” said Djokovic. “I do wish that one day that I can get that kind of goodbye from the world of tennis.”
“I didn’t think about the exact date, if that’s what you’re looking for, or a moment. It was more, just in general of how beautiful that moment is.”
On Tuesday, Djokovic began his 21st French Open, and 78th Grand Slam tournament, with a first-round victory over American Mackenzie McDonald in straight sets. Djokovic is the No. 6 seed on the men’s draw and could face No. 1-seed Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals before potentially facing defending champion and No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the finals.
Even with all that he’s accomplished, there is still something at stake for Djokovic in the 2025 French Open. His 24 Grand Slam titles are tied with women’s player Margaret Court for the most in tennis history, so Djokovic could outright top all of tennis by the end of this event. In addition to being the only triple career Grand Slam winner on the men’s side, by winning each major at least three times, Djokovic can join Steffi Graf as the only other quadruple career Grand Slam winner in the sport by notching his fourth French Open. That would go along with his 10 Australian Opens, seven Wimbledon titles, and four U.S. Open championships.
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