'I think he’ll run out of energy for it...' - Former world No. 1 issues ‘inspiration’ warning for Novak Djokovic

It's truly said that setting a target is tougher than chasing a target. However, the former world number one Andre Agassi feels that tennis starNovak Djokovicwill face a challenge in 2025 in his first year without Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the ATP tour. Roger Federer hung up his boots in September 2022. Nadal played his last match in November this year, leaving the Serbian as the only Big Three member active on the competitive circuit. The three tennis stars dominated men's tennis between 2002 and 2022 to accumulate 63 Grand Slam titles.

However, for the most part, Novak Djokovic inspired himself to chase the other two in the all-time major winners tally and surpassed them back in 2023. Moreover, the 37-year-old tennis legend clinched the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics, essentially completing the game. Thus, the 37-year-old's potential exploits in the future, and the former USA star feels that it will be a daunting task for him.

"He’s lost the guys he’s made history with… I think he’ll run out of energy for it more than capability. It cannot be easy, especially when the people you came to the dance with have left. When Pete (Sampras) retired, it was a blow to me. It set me back a little bit. It made me have to rediscover my inspirations on some level,"  Agassi said during a recent TiE summit in Bengaluru, India.

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'It's probably emotionally going to get tougher and tougher quickly'

Andre Agassi wondered if the 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic would miss his greatest rivals, who have retired in the last leg of their iconic careers, where the 37-year-old tennis legend goes for more history.

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"And he's (Djokovic) lost the guys that he's made history with. So, it's probably emotionally going to get tougher and tougher quickly, but I would never bet against him. Bet against him at your own peril," he added further.

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