Tennis great Jimmy Connors has argued that Novak Djokovic’s China Open victory has “exposed tennis” as he issued a warning to the Serbian’s younger rivals.
Djokovic claimed a record-extending seventh China Open title on Tuesday as he improved his record at the ATP 500 event to a staggering 34-0.
The 39-year-old’s triumph in Beijing was his first title of 2026 — and the 102nd title of his remarkable career.
Only Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) have won more ATP Tour singles tournaments than Djokovic.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Advantage Connors podcast with his son Brett, Connors hit out at those who had written Djokovic off.
“You can say whatever you want about ‘Djoker’ — he’s no slouch,” said the eight-time Grand Slam champion.
“Everybody thinks, ‘oh, he’s had it, he’s 38, 39 years old’. You never count a guy out like that, because you get to the point where every match means something more than it ever did. Especially to him, right?
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“With such little time left, you figure, in his career, that if he’s going through the motions and travelling to these different countries and spending time away from his family, that he’s going to be focused.
“So, let’s see what happens with him. And also, [Jannik] Sinner has been out, which kind of opens the door a little bit more for him. We talk about the young guys, let’s talk about the old guy too.”
The former world No 1 went on to argue that Djokovic “exposed” younger ATP Tour stars by winning Beijing, and he made a comparison to what he achieved late in his own career.
“All that does is say, not only is he (Djokovic) that good, but it may expose tennis a little bit,” Connors added.
“May just expose it to the point where, I mean — I know when I came off a wrist injury [and reached the US Open semi-finals aged 39].
“So, I mean, I lost a year and a half and all that, but that kind of exposed tennis a little bit — that these new, great, young, 23, 24, 25-year-olds, maybe better get on it, man… to start taking your place.”
