“Forget the age, I think for any player those are pretty good results.” Novak Djokovic’s rival Alexander Zverev couldn’t help but admire the Serbian and 24-time slam king’s might after witnessing it first hand on Wednesday. In the French Open semifinal, on court Philippe-Chatrier. Remember, he’s 38 now. So what? In former pro Mats Wilander’s words, “This is Novak Djokovic. This is not a normal tennis player.” And he keeps proving it. So much so that he’s now earned yet another milestone despite achieving almost everything there is to accomplish in tennis.

Yes, he’s fast approaching the mark of 40, but Djokovic’s impact on the world of tennis hasn’t faded yet. In fact, it’s intact, as made evident by WTA icon Venus Williams recently, as she expressed an honest plea. This season hasn’t gone down well for Djokovic. In most of the events, he’s struggled to make deep runs. However, all that changed with his 100th ATP title just days before kicking off his Roland Garros campaign on the Parisian clay, last month. The only active ‘Big Three’ member won the trophy in Geneva, showing that he’s still got the fire.

Williams, who’s currently acting as a commentator for TNT Sports’ coverage of the French Open, shared her honest sentiments over Djokovic. While vouching for him to win a 25th major, she said, “I’m a big Djokovic fan. I’d love to see him come in with title number 25, right? 25.” reported Marca on May 31. Moreover, she also emphasized that the time to say goodbye to Djokovic hasn’t arrived yet. “It’d be huge (25th slam win). And we can’t lose him. We need him in the sport a few more years. We’ve lost Rafa, we lost Federer, we gotta keep him a little while longer.” Well, Djokovic is also leaving no stone unturned in proving Williams right. After ousting Zverev, in a 3-hour-17-minute battle, with a score line of 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, Djokovic has become the oldest man to enter the French Open semis since 1968.

For the uninitiated, ex-American icon Pancho Gonzales was the oldest player, aged 40, back in 1968 to achieve this feat. Well, the stats don’t end here. The win against Zverev was also Djokovic’s 51st in a slam semifinal and 13th overall semifinal victory at the French Open.

His control over Zverev at Court Philippe-Chatrier was so good that he ended up hitting 35 drop shots—the most in the tournament. Thus showing his tactical side while making the German helpless, who “felt like I didn’t know how to win a point” against him.

And what about Djokovic? Well, his reaction was a testament to his hunger for consistency. No matter the age. He’s not going to back down against the world’s best so easily.

Novak Djokovic loves to “push” himself against the best of the best

One can easily understand the pressure of Novak Djokovic‘s performance on Alexander Zverev by the sheer number of unforced errors the German committed. While the Serbian’s count was 29, the World No.3 made 44 unforced errors. That’s a lot.

Following his emphatic win, Djokovic said, “Beating one of the best players in the world on the biggest stages is something that I definitely work for, and I still, you know, push myself on a daily basis at this age because of these kinds of matches and these kinds of experiences,” reported Tennis Channel on June 4.

Continuing further, he added, “It’s a proven kind of testament to myself that I can and to others that I can still play on the highest level.” Talking of his decision to stick more to drop shots, he revealed, “during the last game, my tactic was just to play drop shots,”

“So I played three or four in a row… Maybe you can’t see it on TV, but there is a lot of wind from one side, so it gives the sensation that you must hit twice as hard. It was important to vary the game.” While Djokovic is having a fine run at the Roland Garros, eying his 25th slam, he will now face the biggest challenge yet in this event. World No.1 Jannik Sinner.

In H2H battles, both are leveled at 4-4. However, Djoker’s got an edge when it comes to Grand Slam encounters. So far, he’s met Sinner thrice while winning two of their face-offs. But their last three meetings went in favor of Sinner. One of those meetings was the semifinal of the 2024 Australian Open.

What are your thoughts on Djokovic’s prospects going into the anticipated clash with Sinner on Friday? Will he keep his chances of winning the 25th major alive? Let us know in the comments below.