What Novak Djokovic is doing at the age of 38 is nothing short of extraordinary.

As I’m writing this piece, he’s just beaten world number 4, Taylor Fritz, in his prime, at his home Grand Slam. Now he's gearing up to face Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the US Open, and while the result of that match is largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of his career, Djokovic won’t see it that way. Perhaps his most outstanding characteristic throughout his career, and especially now, has been his sheer willpower to succeed no matter the challenge.

Playing an unbeatable Alcaraz to earn the right to play an even more unbeatable Sinner might seem like an impossible mountain to climb, but it pales in comparison to the Mount Everests he has already ascended.

I’ve often asked myself this question about Novak Djokovic — what defines him as a player? His two biggest rivals, Federer and Nadal, are easy to classify: elegance and grind, but Djokovic, not so much.

As the years have gone by, I’ve slowly started realizing there is only one way to define Djokovic: he is the ultimate winner. He has the winning head-to-head against both Federer and Nadal. He's won the most Masters 1000s and, of course, the most Grand Slams, but for me, limiting it to the numbers simplifies it far too much. Djokovic's personification of winning goes much, much deeper than that.

Novak Djokovic finds a way to win in any situation and there are two matches that outline this better than any others: the 2012 Australian Open and the 2019 Wimbledon final. Over time, Djokovic has refined a trident of power that he has used to win at all costs: mental fortitude, technical perfection, and fight. These two matches outline this perfectly.

2012 Australian Open Final

The 2012 Australian Open is one of the greatest matches of all time, and it was always likely to be when you saw a prime Djokovic and prime Nadal facing off in a slam final. The two icons had already made their careers off never missing a ball, especially in important moments, and it felt like every second of that match was important — perpetually on a knife’s edge. After nearly six hours of the most gruelling ball-striking we’re ever likely to see, Djokovic rolled a forehand past Nadal and fell to the ground as the 2012 Australian Open champion.

This match encompassed all three of Djokovic’s best attributes starting with his technique. It was nearly perfect that day, and in a recent interview Nadal described Djokovic as the ultimate ball-striker, "in terms of ball control, I think he’s the best I ever played and that I ever saw.” (Served Podcast) That's high praise from the King of Clay, especially considering he also played Roger Federer 40 times.

Second, it takes monumental fortitude to play six hours against Nadal and end up winning against Nadal and end up winning – that should never be understated. And finally, Djokovic fought. He fought against the crowd, he fought against cramps, fatigue, and pain, he fought against himself, and he fought tooth and nail for every point against his opponent.

Many say that Djokovic was in his prime during the 2011 season. While I don't necessarily agree, I do think that incredible year culminated with his January success in Australia where he demonstrated the most balanced combination of technique, fight and mental fortitude that he has had. The trident was perhaps never as lethal as it had been during that year and that final, but Djokovic learned to adapt.

2019 Wimbledon Final

On this day, Djokovic’s trident wasn’t on point. His technique was good, but it wasn’t perfect, and to beat Federer at Wimbledon, you have to be close to perfect. Djokovic would later say in an interview that Federer played better tennis, but he still won in the end. That day, Djokovic won by playing the man, not the odds, something he became exceptionally good at in the later stages of his career. He won because his fight and mental fortitude were at an all-time high and overwhelmed Federer in the end.

There’s a reason I chose the word “fight” instead of “resilience” to define Novak Djokovic. He’s always had a fire burning inside of him — a sort of chaos and a friction with himself, his opponent, or something else. That need for a fight is best represented by his relationship with the crowd, especially on Centre Court against Roger Federer. There’s no hiding it: against that man, on that patch of grass, Djokovic does not have much support, and that was glaringly obvious throughout the 2019 final, especially once Federer got two match points and the whole stadium stood up ready to crown their king.

But that's not a problem for Djokovic, in fact, it's quite the opposite. You see, there’s something different about him, when most of us get angry, we start shaking, we get tight and irrational, and it generally doesn’t translate well to performing on a tennis court. But he has proven time and time again that that’s not how he reacts. He feeds off that anger, finds the desire to overcome the adversity, and he certainly did in this match.

But it wasn’t over yet, because he still had to win those two points on Federer’s serve — easier said than done on a court the Swiss had dominated for so long. This is where Djokovic’s mind became his ultimate weapon. Good players can control their minds to encourage themselves when they do something well or reassure themselves after they fail, but Djokovic takes it ten steps further.

His mental power is so strong that his opponents feel it. “Play the man, not the odds.” That’s what Djokovic does, and that’s why he’s become nearly unbeatable against the average player on tour. No matter how good things may look, they know what’s coming; Djokovic is inevitable. He’ll win in the end.

Federer is certainly not an "average player on tour", but he felt the full force of Djokovic’s mental fortitude that day on Centre Court. Up a match point against Djokovic at a slam? He’d been there before, it didn’t end well, and Djokovic knew he was thinking about it. He had a unique ability to infiltrate other players' minds and remind them of everything he had done to them before and you could tell that was weighing on Federer. After a decent serve plus one, he rushed up to the net in haste, trying to end things quickly, but Djokovic whizzed a winner past his right shoulder onto the line. In that moment, Federer capitulated. The mental warfare against the strongest mind in sport’s history was too much, and that’s what pushed Djokovic over the finish line.

There are so many other matches I could recount to further describe the admiration I have for Djokovic, but I’ll leave it at this.

Tennis is a simple game. It’s you and your opponent, playing until one person wins and the other loses. However you get to that point doesn’t really matter, and there is no other player in the history of tennis that can play that game better.

Head Crowns their Legend

Djokovic finally received his long overdue signature line last year. The Head Speed Legend came out in 2024 and, while there were murmurings it would be a more accurate representation of Djokovic’s racket, in the end it was just a blacked-out Speed MP and Pro.

No matter though, it was extremely well received, topping the sales charts deep into 2025, but it’s just been updated for the end of the year. The 2025 Head Speed Legend MP & Pro are here, and I’ve already done a review of the MP. Like the previous version, this Legend will be identical to the standard Speed MP coming out in 2026, and it’s a fantastic update.

While the previous Speed MP was already a great stick, they’ve added a very cool new technology into the layup: Hy-Bor. Hy-Bor is there to make the sweet spot a little bigger by making it more resilient on off-centre hits, and it certainly works. What’s special about Hy-Bor, though, is that compared to other stabilization layups, especially from other brands, it doesn’t seem to ruin the feel quite as much. I can't wait to see where Head takes this technology in the future.

As much as I like this update on the Speed MP, I think I like it more on the Pro. While the previous Pro was a good racket, it had a very high swing weight that made it too hard to swing for mortals like me. With the introduction of Hy-Bor and the added stability it provides, Head has managed to significantly decrease the racket's swing weight — it’s even lower than the MP’s that I tested.

I’ll have to spend more time on court before I finish my full review, but adding manoeuvrability to the Speed Pro is a game changer. Not only is it quicker to move with around the court, but it’s also easier to swing quickly through contact, meaning you get more spin, more power, and the same great control and consistency you would expect from an 18x20.

Like I said, I can’t wait to see what Head does with this technology, but it is a phenomenal addition to the Speed line. Now, let’s talk a little bit about Djokovic’s shoes.

Credit to Asics, they actually gave Djokovic a signature shoe before he got a signature racket. The Court FF was more or less Djokovic’s brainchild, and when you look at how the shoe is designed, it certainly makes sense.

It’s one of the most robust, durable, and supportive shoes on the market these days, which Djokovic obviously needs for all of the massive lateral cuts and slides that are an integral part of his game. The Court FF has a super stiff heel counter and heel cup that lock the foot in exceptionally well, and the rest of the upper is made from a firm rubber material that stays rigid on lateral cuts and wears out remarkably slowly.

Then you’ve got the outsole, which has a surprisingly airy quality to it — it’s not squishy, but slightly springy and extremely responsive. It just seems to add a little extra spring to your step, and of course, these shoes slide very easily and consistently, as we’ve come to expect from Asics.

It took a long time for companies to finally give Djokovic his signature lines – perhaps he's not as marketable as Federer and Nadal – but in the twilight of his career, he's finally getting the flowers he deserves. When he does retire, Djokovic will surely go down as the greatest tennis player to ever live; a born winner who has left his mark on the sport like very few before him.