‘Older and slower’ – Leconte thinks Djokovic will struggle to match Alcaraz and Sinner

Former world No. 5 Henri Leconte has weighed in on the situation at the top of the men’s game, where 36-year-old Novak Djokovic is trying to reassert his dominance having failed to win a tournament so far this year.

Djokovic opens his campaign in Monte-Carlo on Tuesday against Roman Safiullin, as he bids to add a third Monaco title to his collection. It will be his first match on clay of the year, and his first of any kind since he .

But with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in attendance, on top form and brimming full of confidence, Djokovic has his work cut out this week.

“The ‘Next Gen’ has dominated since last year, but they must prove that they can remain at the highest level,” Leconte told Monaco Matin ahead of the tournament.

“Sinner wins and confirms with his exceptional start to the season. There’s still Novak, but he’s older and he’s slower. He lost a little liveliness.

“Young people are less afraid because they feel that it is crumbly. Slowly, everything changes.”

Leconte knows a thing or two about playing well on clay, having reached the final at Roland-Garros back in 1988, losing to Eurosport’s own Mats Wilander.

Djokovic has made no secret of his desire to do well on the clay this year, with the Olympics set to be played on the red-dirt courts of Roland-Garros.

A strong run on clay before the grass-court season would be the perfect build up to that Olympic campaign, with a gold medal one of the very few things missing from Djokovic’s trophy cabinet.

But as Leconte alluded to, time waits for no man. Djokovic will turn 37 next month, and he has his work cut against a younger generation who know they can beat him on the biggest of stages. Alcaraz did so at Wimbledon last year, Sinner in Melbourne.

And with the likes of Daniil Medvedev playing some good tennis, Alexander Zverev coming back to his best form after his lengthy injury layoff and Holger Rune only likely to improve, Djokovic has his hands full this season when it comes to taking home those trophies.

But first he must make his way past Safiullin. The two have played once before, Djokovic winning in straight sets in Tel Aviv in 2022. They have never met on clay though, so it could be a tricky opening for the world No. 1, especially as he is currently without a full-time coach, having parted ways with Goran Ivanisevic last month after six years together.