"Older players fall into this trap every time" - Pat Cash explains why Novak Djokovic should play more matches in 2025

Although former World No.1 Novak Djokovic has stated he would like to focus only on Grand Slam events during the 2025 season, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash believes the Serbian should not follow that route.

Djokovic finished the 2024 season without winning an ATP title, falling in the Wimbledon final to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. However, the 37-year old did capture the elusive Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games this summer, and later revealed he would be shifting his focus to competing mostly at Grand Slam events in the future.

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Playing more matches would be beneficial, says Cash

Already sitting at the top of the Grand Slam titles list with 24 Majors, Djokovic said he would like to preserve his body in an attempt to add more trophies to his already impressive tally. However, Cash believes this could be the wrong approach, as it could lead to Djokovic losing his match toughness.

"Older players fall into this trap every time that they are trying to save their body and they don’t always get a good balance on playing enough matches," said the retired Australian legend. "You tend to see older players start to lose five-set matches or have more bad days and that’s natural."
"That’s match toughness. I know Novak has played a lot of matches over the course of his career, but he still needs to be match-tough going into a best-of-five-set Grand Slam tournament.
"We often say you can’t afford to get into tough five-set matches in the first week of a Slam as you need to stay fresh and that’s especially true when you get older. If you don’t have enough matches under your belt and you play a long one early on, I tell you what, you are going to be so sore."

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However, Cash believes that with three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray in the Serbian's coaching box, Djokovic might end up adjusting his schedule as the retired British star was known for playing a lot of matches.

"Andy has had a lot of injuries, but he always tried to play a lot of tournaments through to the end of his career and for me, that’s the big secret for Novak in the next year," added Cash. "If he can get his schedule right and make sure he has the right number of matches under his belt, he can win again."