"Novak Djokovic's getting older" - Serb winning Golden Slam in 2024 would be 'a little surprising,' according to Alex Corretja

Alex Corretja isn’t convinced of Novak Djokovic's chances of winning the Calendar Golden Slam in 2024.

With the Paris Olympics just around the corner, the 2024 tennis season is assured to be action-packed. The Olympics event will witness the debut of several up-and-coming players such as World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, World No. 4 Jannik Sinner, and World No. 8 Holger Rune.

On the other hand, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is gearing up for his fifth appearance at the event. The veteran, who has thrice come within a whisker of winning the Calendar Grand Slam (2015, 2021, 2023), will also have a crack at the Calendar Golden Slam this time around, meaning he will look to win the 2024 Olympic gold in addition to the four Slams during the year.

Former Spanish tennis player Alex Corretja, however, recently opined that Djokovic achieving the Golden Slam feat would be ‘surprising’ despite his rich vein of form and past success. Corretja said in an interview with Eurosport:

“I think that would be a little bit surprising [to win a Golden Slam].”

Corretja reasoned that while Djokovic may improve his technique, the Serb's age might factor into his recovery during tournaments.

“Because even if he improves his game so much, he's getting older. It's normal that he is getting older and the recovery is not the same,” Corretja added.

Alex Corretja further expressed that while he is confident about Djokovic winning a few more Slams, the field was likely going to get tougher for him.

“I'm sure that he's going to keep on winning Slams, but it's going to be tougher and tougher and he knows that,” the former World No. 2 said.

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"The match Novak Djokovic lost against Jannik Sinner might be good for him" – Alex Corretja

Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals

Novak Djokovic put together several age-defying results in 2023. The Serb lifted seven titles, including three Grand Slams (the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open), to take his Major tally to a record-breaking 24 titles.

Djokovic also won the ATP Finals and the Masters 1000s in Paris and Cincinnati, subsequently ending the campaign as the year-end World No. 1 for a record-extending eighth time.

Over the course of the season, Djokovic wisely chose the tournaments he contested, focusing mainly on the Grand Slams and the Masters events.

In the aforementioned interview, Alex Corretja hinted that the World No. 1 has been playing his cards right in this regard.

“At the same time, he's got the experience and he's just focused on the important tournaments and the ones that he feels are going to make a difference in his life,” the Spaniard said.

While the Serb remained largely indomitable in 2023, he did face some surprising defeats at the hands of younger opponents such as Lorenzo Musetti (at the Monte-Carlo Masters), Holger Rune (at the Rome Masters), Carlos Alcaraz (in the Wimbledon final) and Jannik Sinner (in the ATP Finals group stage and the Davis Cup).

Corretja noted that Novak Djokovic’s latest loss to Sinner in the Davis Cup semifinal would serve as a 'wake-up call' for the Serb.

"In a way, I feel the match that he lost against [Jannik Sinner] in the Davis Cup might be good for him. It's a wake-up call to say, ‘Okay, I'm doing unbelievably, but I can't relax for one second because some of the guys behind me are going to push me so much. They're very dangerous and they know they can beat me now.’"