Novak Djokovic’s dream of a 25th Grand Slam title was blocked by a familiar foe as he was comprehensively beaten by Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals, with the Serbian admitting his straight-sets defeat was ‘a bit of a blowout’.

Djokovic has insisted he still intends to come back to Wimbledon for one more attempt to win the title when he will be 40 next year, but former British No 1 Greg Rusedski fears his best hope of winning the Grand Slam that would make him the most successful player of all time may be beyond him.

Rusedski was convinced that Djokovic’s best chance to win the title that would move him clear of Margaret Court in the all-time list of Grand Slam winners would come at Wimbledon, with the absence of Carlos Alcaraz giving him a chance to compete for the title.

Yet Sinner had too much for him on the Centre Court for a second successive year and while he lavished praise on Djokovic in the latest edition of his Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast, the former British No 1 believes Djokovic’s Grand Slam dream may now be beyond him.

Djokovic performed superbly and his five hour and 15-minute quarter-final win against Felix Auger-Aliassime was one of the highlights of Wimbledon, but the sands of time may now inevitably catch up with the Serbian.

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“He needs a lot more luck now,” declares Rusedski, in an exclusive extract of his podcast on Tennis365.

“I think Alcaraz being out this Wimbledon was huge for him. I think he was a little bit hurt by the Auger-Aliassime match where he ran out of gas and Sinner played magnificently in their semi-final.

“I don’t know if he’s gonna win a 25th Slam now. I think this was possibly his last chance. But continue playing, stranger things have happened.

“I’ve gotten it wrong many times, but there aren’t many 39-year-old-plus people who win majors. And it kind of feels like, yeah, he can go semis, possibly a final. But to get over the final hurdle now, it feels like the next generation is establishing itself.

“Alexander Zverev’s just shown up to the party. The way he served these two weeks was frightening. He lost two sets going into the finals and he took a set off Sinner.

“I don’t know if he’ll have enough physically in the tank. That’s the question mark. Mentally, he’s up there with him. But he’s just not got enough energy to pass the final hurdle.

“That’s the problem. You have to go back-to-back against two of the hottest players at the tournament, even if Carlos Alcaraz isn’t there. And that’s the problem I see for Novak.

“Nothing but respect for him and if he gets a 25th Slam, I will be happy to eat my words.”

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Djokovic is unlikely to play too many warm-up events ahead of next month’s US Open, with a return to the slick US hard courts likely to make his life even tougher when he takes on players like Sinner, Zverev and Auger-Aliassime.

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