MELBOURNE
– A day before Novak Djokovic left Australia without knowing whether he will ever play the tournament again, Margaret Court kissed him for the first time.
What’s the significance of that kiss? Court and Djokovic share something no one else has: they both own 24 Grand Slam titles. Serena Williams has 23, Rafael Nadal and Steffi Graf have 22, Roger Federer has 20.
Djokovic still has it in his hands to add 25 and become the absolute record holder, which he already is in the professional tennis era, because Court is from an earlier era, although 11 of those 24 Grand Slam titles were achieved already in the the professional era.
In total, she has 64 Grand Slam titles between singles, doubles and mixed doubles. And she is one of only three women – no man has ever done so – to have won all three categories at every Grand Sam tournament. She owns 11 Australian Opens, one more than Djokovic.
‘I had been trying to meet Djokovic for a long time,’ Court, 82, told Australia’s The Age newspaper.
‘But I hadn’t been able to make it. Yesterday (Thursday) I passed him in a hallway and he came up to give me a kiss. We just said ‘hello’ to each other, but it was like we knew each other.”

Court, winner of the Grand Slam in 1970 when she was already a professional, says she wouldn’t mind if Djokovic won her 25th Grand Slam title, just as she wouldn’t have minded if Serena Williams reached 24.
The question is whether 25 is feasible, because Djokovic, who has not won a Grand Slam title since September 2023 in New York, will turn 38 on 22 May, days before the start of Roland Garros. The Serb continues to show sublime tennis and mentality, it was evident in the quarter-finals against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, but the doubt about his fitness is legitimate.
Djokovic did this Friday in Melbourne something that at one time in his career was customary, but had ceased to be: withdraw from a match. Germany’s Alexander Zverev had just won the first set 7-6 (7-5) in 81 minutes of play when the Serb walked up to him and shook his hand. He was injured, he couldn’t go on.
Will he play again in Australia, or was it his last appearance at Melbourne Park, where he won a record ten titles?
‘I don’t know. There’s a possibility,’ the former world number one admitted after a deep sigh and with a serious look on his face. It made sense: a large section of the crowd booed Djokovic as he left Rod Laver Arena, something the Serb will never forget or forgive. The consequences of the 2022 scandal, in the midst of the pandemic, continue to haunt him.
‘Who knows? I’ll have to see how the season goes. I want to continue. But whether or not I’m going to have a revised schedule for next year, I’m not sure. Normally I like to come to Australia to play. I’ve had the most success of my career here. So if I’m fit, healthy and motivated, I don’t see any reason not to come.
‘But there’s always a chance, yes.’
Djokovic had not hit a ball since the dramatic win over Alcaraz on Tuesday night. He did so again an hour before the clash with Zverev, but went into the match with doubts and fears.
How long it will take him to recover from the muscle tear is now the big question mark.
‘I don’t know, to be honest. I have to look at this injury more. When I go back home to Europe, I will meet with the medical team and my physiotherapists to try to understand what we can do and what is the quickest way to recover and get back on track (…). I’ve had success with quick recoveries in the past. Let’s see. It depends on the muscle and how it responds to the treatment’.
But time passes and Djokovic, even if he wanted to, is not eternal.
‘The statistics are against me in a way in the last two years. It’s true that I’ve been injured quite a lot the last couple of years. I don’t know why exactly. Maybe several different factors. But I’ll keep going, I’ll keep striving to win more slams. And as long as I feel like I want to stick with it, I’ll keep going.”
On Sunday, Margaret Court will attend the final. She already has Djokovic’s kiss, perhaps also the suspicion that that 24 has more life in it than it seemed until a couple of days ago.