“He cannot run through the same rallies”: Gilles Simon highlights Novak Djokovic’s shift from Nadal-era intensity

Former world No. 6 Gilles Simon reflected on Novak Djokovic’s impressive longevity, highlighting how the 24-time Grand Slam champion remains among the best in the world despite no longer having the physical condition of his prime. The Serbian star, who turns 38 in May, continues to compete at the highest level.

Despite playing fewer tournaments throughout the year, Djokovic is still ranked world No. 5 and remains a strong contender in every Grand Slam. He reached the semifinals at the most recent Australian Open before being forced to retire mid-match against Alexander Zverev due to injury.

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In a recent interview with Tennis365, Gilles Simon, one of Djokovic’s former rivals, spoke about the Serbian's evolution in recent years. Notably, Djokovic—who won his first major title at the 2008 Australian Open aged just 20—has claimed 12 of his 24 Grand Slam titles after turning 30.

“It’s a very logical way,” said Simon. “He’s serving better and better, because he needs more free points than before. He’s less capable of holding his level playing full intensity, every point from the baseline for four or five sets, what he was doing before with Rafa [Nadal] – we all watched it."

“It has already been a few years now where he can only play that level for one hour and a half and sometimes one set, or some moments in the match. Even when he won the French Open or Wimbledon, there is one set where he is not playing it, because he needs to recover – something he would never do before. Before he was full gas, first to last point.”

The last recent meeting between Nadal and Djokovic came at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, a second-round clash on the clay of Roland Garros. Djokovic won in straight sets, though the match was far from the epic battles of the past, as Nadal was clearly out of rhythm—unlike the dominant force he once was. Their head-to-head now stands at 31–29 in favour of Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at the Olympic Games 2024.

“That’s logical, and it’s changing also the way he plays. Instead of long rallies, maybe he’s going to go for a short point,” Simon added. “He’s improving his serve to get more points there, sometimes he’s going to be a bit more aggressive at some moments, because he cannot run through the same rallies.”

“The choices he is making sometimes are different because he has to know how to handle this energy and regulate it, to play the five sets. That’s where the logic is different. It’s no longer: ‘No matter what happened, I will go full power first to last point.'

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“He’s really smart, he understands everything, he’s super good obviously. He understands now how his body is responding and where the limit is, and where he has to change the choice and be a bit more aggressive to have shorter points in some moments, to hold the whole match,” Simon concluded.

Djokovic will be back on court this week at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he’ll be the third seed in the first clay-court event of the season for him. His last appearance on the surface was back in Paris 2024, when he claimed the coveted gold medal against Carlos Alcaraz.

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