MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) 鈥� And then there was one: is down to just , who stands alone from a golden generation of men鈥檚 tennis now that has joined .
, which started Sunday (Saturday night EST), is the first Grand Slam tournament of 2025 鈥� and the first major championship to be held since Nadal, 38, in November. came in 2021, although he didn't announce he was done until 2022.
鈥淚t鈥檚 coming to an end, this era. It鈥檚 tough for us. We grew up watching all of them. We saw them winning all the events,鈥� said Francisco Cer煤ndolo, a 26-year-old from Argentina who鈥檚 been ranked in the top 20. 鈥淭hen suddenly we started playing against them, sharing the locker room or practicing with them, having conversations with them.鈥�
Djokovic has won 10 of his at Melbourne Park since making his Grand Slam debut there in 2005, and was scheduled to begin his bid for Nos. 11 and 25 on Monday against 19-year-old Californian Nishesh Basavareddy, who recently announced he was leaving Stanford University to turn pro.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a nice number of years that I鈥檝e been coming to Australia,鈥� Djokovic said, 鈥渢he place where I had the greatest Grand Slam success.鈥�
One big change for him as he seeks to become the first player in tennis history with 25 major singles titles: He is being coached, at least for this event, by his former on-court rival, , who retired as a player last August.
鈥淲e thought we鈥檇 give it a go and see if I can help,鈥� said Murray, who collected three major titles and two Olympic singles gold medals. 鈥淣ovak is not just one of the best tennis players of all-time. He鈥檚 one of the best athletes of all-time."
One other difference this time in Melbourne is that Djokovic was accompanied by his wife and two children.
Basavareddy, roughly half the age of the 37-year-old Djokovic, grew up cheering for the Serb, as did plenty of other current players.
鈥淗e's been my favorite player ever since I started watching (tennis), really,鈥� at about age 6 or 7, Basavareddy said. 鈥淛ust watched a lot of his matches and tried to learn from him.鈥�
Some opted for Federer, a 20-time major champ, or Nadal, who won 22 Slam titles, as role models, of course.
As time passes, inevitably, Djokovic will move on from his playing days. Just not yet.
And even if he went without a Grand Slam triumph last season , the man many call 鈥淣ole鈥� did manage to collect the only piece of significant hardware missing from his tremendous resume, an .
Aiming to rebound from what, for him, was a so-so season, hampered by a surgically repaired knee 鈥� the Paris Games success represented his only tournament victory 鈥� Djokovic cut his 2024 short, skipping the ATP Finals, and got to work in the offseason with Murray.
Now folks inside and outside the sport wonder how much, exactly, the No. 7-seeded Djokovic plans to compete and what, exactly, he can continue to win.
鈥淚t was a sad moment when Roger went, because the injuries had a lot to do with it. And Rafa also struggled with injuries. Nole is still quite fit, I have to say,鈥� said Wesley Koolhof, 35, who retired last year with one Grand Slam title in men's doubles and one in mixed doubles. 鈥淵ou know it鈥檚 going to happen at one point that all the legends are going to retire. Nole is still going strong. Who knows how many years he has left in him?鈥�
There is little doubt among his fellow players that Djokovic is not to be dismissed.
鈥淔or me,鈥� said Alexander Zverev, a two-time major finalist who is seeded No. 2 in Australia, 鈥渉e鈥檚 still one of the best players in the world.鈥�
Asked what he expects to see from Djokovic in Australia, smiled and replied: 鈥淎 really dangerous player.鈥�
鈥淚f he goes to Australia ... hungry," said Alcaraz, who beat Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals and lost to him in the Olympic final, "(he) is going to be one of the favorites to win.鈥�
___ AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Turin, Italy, contributed. ___
Howard Fendrich has been the AP鈥檚 tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: . More AP tennis:
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
