“I don't recall any player”: Brad Gilbert highlights Novak Djokovic’s ‘amazing’ trait

Famous tennis coach Brad Gilbert has had an interesting take on Serbia’s Novak Djokovic’s unique trait nowadays. The 38-year-old is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles.

The ex-coach of the former world number one Andy Murray, Gilbert, recently appeared in an episode of The Serve with Andy Roddick podcast, where he highlighted that he has never seen a player who is only focused on playing the Grand Slams. Gilbert stated that it surprised him to see Djokovic get better as the tournament went on in the recently concluded US Open, despite having taken a medical timeout in three out of the first four matches.

“I think he [Djokovic] called an injury timeout in three of his [first] four matches and he's gotten better,” said Gilbert. “What's more amazing is he's just playing majors now. He's just played French, Wimbledon, U.S. Open. I don't recall any player. I don't know if a guy or woman just played three consecutive majors.”

During the conversation, one of the participants noted that perhaps the former women’s world number one, Serena Williams, had done something similar towards the end of her career. In response to that, Gilbert stated that she was going to be his ‘best guess’ too but highlighted that playing just Grand Slams is ‘pretty remarkable. “I'm not sure that she [Serena] ever did that,” said Gilbert. “She would be my best guess, too, though. Just no tournaments in between is pretty remarkable.”

Moving ahead, Gilbert highlighted how age is getting the better of Djokovic, who according to him, is now having a tough time in winning points where the rallies are longer than nine shots. “Novak is 38 years young,” said Gilbert. “When he gets, when the rally gets extended past seven, eight, nine balls, the odds of him winning the point decrease incredibly.”

Djokovic’s journey in the recently concluded US Open came to an end after losing in the semifinal to Alcaraz in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-6, 6-2. It was Djokovic’s fourth consecutive defeat in the semifinal of a Grand Slam in 2025. At the Australian Open, Djokovic was forced to retire after losing the first set in the last-four clash against Germany’s Alexander Zverev because of an injury he sustained during the quarterfinal win against Alcaraz.

At the French Open, Djokovic came second-best against current world number two Italy’s Jannik Sinner in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 7-5, 7-6. At Wimbledon, Djokovic once again came short in the last-four clash after losing to Sinner in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Interestingly, Djokovic has not played in any other events since taking part in the French Open.

Djokovic, after losing in the semifinal at the US Open, reiterated his desire to continue challenging for the Grand Slams, despite knowing that it will only get tougher for him to compete against the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner in the near future.

“I lost three out of four Slams in semis against these guys [the other came against Alexander Zverev in Melbourne], so they’re just too good, playing on a really high level,” said Djokovic. “Best-of-five makes it very, very difficult for me to play them, particularly if it’s at the end stages of the Grand Slams. “I’m happy with my level of tennis, but it’s just the physicality of it. I’m going to do my very best to get my body in shape to sustain that level and that rhythm for as many hours as it’s needed, but it wasn’t enough today. That’s something I, unfortunately at this point in time in my career, can’t control. I can do only as much as I can do. It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner, Alcaraz, in best-of-five at the Grand Slams. I think I have a better chance in best-of-three, but best-of-five, it’s tough.”