NEW DELHI: Former India tennis player Leander Paes believes that Serbia star Novak Djokovic has a 100 per cent chance to lift his eighth Wimbledon title, and despite being 38, he still has a couple of Grand Slams left in him. Despite battling his knee issue and alleged booing by fans, Djokovic cruised into the semi-final of the ongoing Wimbledon 2024.
Lorenzo Musetti is waiting for him in the semi-final on Friday, and if he manages to prevail over the Italian, the world number two will face a tough challenge in Carlos Alcaraz or Daniil Medvedev to lift the record eighth title. If Djokovic overcomes the exceptional set of challenges that lie ahead of him, he will level Switzerland's icon Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon titles. While praising Djokovic, who has been one of the "best in the game" for more than a decade, Paes believes that the Serbian has a shot at the record Wimbledon title and could even lift a couple of more Grand Slams before he decides to hang up his boots. "So, does Djokovic have a chance? 100 per cent. He's now the reigning GOAT (Greatest of All Time) of all time. He's won more Grand Slams than anybody else can, or anyone else has, rather. In that, I feel like experience-wise and playing at the big stages, Djokovic is one of the best in the game," Paes, an 18-time Grand Slam champion, told ANI. "So, I think the men's game of tennis is just… looking so healthy and looking so amazing, even after Federer's retirement, even after Nadal, you know, playing his last couple of tournaments, even with Djokovic and a knee injury, I still think Djokovic has a couple more grand slams wins in him. But to see the younger generation of Medvedev, (Jannik) Sinner, Alcaraz, (Alexander) Zverev, (Frances) Tiafoe, the few of the American guys are coming in. I think it's just fantastic," he added. Fans could witness a repeat of last year's mouth-watering final, with Djokovic and Alcaraz in contention of recreating another memorable final. In a game that went right down to the wire, Alcaraz saved a match point against Djokovic when the Serbian had a smash up his sleeve to finish off the game. He converted the smash into a forehand, and all of a sudden, the momentum switched in the final set. At 21, Alcaraz already has a French Open, Wimbledon, and a US Open in his evergrowing trophy cabinet. Paes lavished praise on him for the remarkable feats that he had been able to achieve at the beginning of his career. "That being said, I feel that Alcaraz himself is really boosting on confidence. He's just won the French Open. He won Wimbledon last year. At the age of 20, he's the youngest person to win three Grand Slams on three different surfaces," Paes said. "Next, in Australia, if he does win the Australian Open, he'd probably be the youngest to win a career Grand Slam in singles. To me, that is a massive talent. That is an amazing feat to see that all three Grand Slams that Alcaraz has won have been on three different surfaces. French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open," he added. India's Rohan Bopanna was also in the race for a title in the men's doubles. He played alongside Paes' former partner, Matthew Ebden, in the event. However, the Indo-Aussie duo failed to relive their Australia Open success and crashed out in the second round after suffering defeat against Hendrik Jebens and Constantin Frantzen of Germany. Paes revealed that he had a conversation with his former partner after the game about their surprise early exit from the tournament. "You know, I did not watch that match, but I spoke to Matthew Ebden after it, because Matthew was one of my last doubles partners on the tour, and it's quite interesting how a lot of my last doubles partners have played with Indians after me. But Matt basically said that it was just an off day. This year at Wimbledon, there's a lot of rain. It's very cold out there. It's very tough for the players to stay warm and to stay in the zone because they're going on the court and it's raining, they're coming off. Then they're going on the court again, warming up again, it's raining, they're coming off. It takes a lot of mental aptitude to just stay in the zone. So Matt basically said it was just a tough day at the office and so be it," Paes noted.