MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic can still crack a joke when discussing the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry that for two years has prevented him from becoming the most decorated tennis player ever.
"I lost three out of four Slams against either Sinner or Alcaraz,” in 2025, he said Saturday, on the eve of the Australian Open.
“We don’t need to praise them too much,” he added, smiling. “They have been praised enough! We know how good they are, and they absolutely deserve to be where they are. They are the dominant forces of the men’s tennis at the moment.”
Djokovic is starting a third season in pursuit a 25th Grand Slam singles title, and has refined his approach for the Australian Open.
He withdrew from his only scheduled tuneup tournament, knowing he's lacking “a little bit of juice in my legs” to compete with two young stars at end of the majors and that he has to stay as pain-free as possible.
Djokovic worked out how to beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the established rivalry before he turned it into the Big Three and then surpassed them both.
A winner of 24 major championships — a record for the Open era and tied with Margaret Court for the most in the history of tennis — the 38-year-old Djokovic is doing everything to keep himself “in the mix.”
Djokovic last won a major title at the 2023 U.S. Open. Sinner and Alcaraz have split the eight since then. Sinner has won the last two Australian titles. Alcaraz is in Australia determined to add the title at Melbourne Park to complete a career Grand Slam.
Despite being hampered by injuries, Djokovic reached the semifinals at all four majors last year. A torn hamstring forced him to quit his Australian Open semifinal, after he'd ousted Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
By reminding himself that “24 is also not a bad number,” Djokovic said he's taking the “now-or-never type of mentality” out of his every appearance at a major because it's not allowing him to excel at his best.
“Sinner and Alcaraz are playing on a different level right now from everybody else. That’s a fact,” Djokovic said, “but that doesn’t mean that nobody else has a chance.
“So I like my chances always, in any tournament, particularly here.”
The 10-time Australian Open champion starts Monday in a night match on Rod Laver Arena against No. 71-ranked Pedro Martinez of Spain. Seeded fourth, he's in the same half of the draw as top-ranked Alcaraz. That means they can only meet in the semifinals here.
Djokovic hasn't played an official tournament since November.
“Obviously took more time to rebuild my body, because I understand that in the last couple of years, that’s what changed the most for me — takes more time to rebuild, and it also takes more time to reset or recover,” he said. “I had a little setback that prevented me to compete at Adelaide tournament ... but it’s been going on very well so far here.”
He said there's “something here and there” every day in terms of aches and pains, “but generally I feel good and look forward to competing.”
Djokovic cut ties earlier this month with the Professional Tennis Players Association, a group he co-founded, saying “my values and approach are no longer aligned with the current direction of the organization.”
Djokovic and Canadian player Vasek Pospisil launched the PTPA in 2020, aiming to offer representation for players who are independent contractors in a largely individual sport.
“It was a tough call for me to exit the PTPA, but I had to do that, because I felt like my name was ... overused,” he said. “I felt like people, whenever they think about PTPA, they think it’s my organization, which is a wrong idea from the very beginning.”
He said he's still supporting the concept.
“I am still wishing them all the best, because I think that there is room and there is a need for a 100% players-only representation organization existing in our ecosystem,” he said.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts during a press conference ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures during a press conference ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures during a press conference ahead of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
DALLAS (AP) — The mess in Texas may be just beginning.
Four-term Sen. John Cornyn and his allies spent nearly $70 million to survive the first round of the party’s nomination fight on Tuesday. He was slightly ahead of conservative firebrand Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, with more votes still being counted on Wednesday.
Both now advance to a May 26 runoff election that Republicans fear could be even uglier and more expensive than the first contest.
“It's judgment day for Ken Paxton,” Cornyn said on Tuesday night.
But whether any level of attacks can stop Paxton — who has long been shadowed by allegations of corruption and infidelity — remains unclear, especially as he fashions himself as the kind of Make America Great Again warrior President Donald Trump needs in Washington.
Paxton was defiant when speaking to a few hundred supporters at a Dallas hotel ballroom, a far different scene than Cornyn's small press conference.
“We just sent a message, loud and clear, to Washington,” he said. “We are not going to go quietly, and we are not going to let you buy the seat.”
Republicans are sweating the runoff because the 83-day sprint takes place as operatives in both major political parties acknowledge that Democrats have an unusually solid chance of winning a Senate seat in Texas this year, something that hasn't happened in nearly four decades.
Democrats nominated state Rep. James Talarico, who Republicans immediately attacked as a far-left extremist — even though they privately consider the 36-year-old Christian progressive to be a stronger general election candidate than his primary opponent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
The Texas contest is playing out as Trump fights to maintain control of Congress for his final two years in the White House. Republicans are more confident about keeping their majority in the Senate than the House, but a competitive race in Texas could scramble the map, or at least consume resources that the party needs in more competitive states like North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska.
Republican leaders in Washington insist that Cornyn has the best shot, especially after he finished ahead of Paxton in Tuesday's primary, with U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt finishing a distant third and conceding. Cornyn's campaign argued that a runoff wouldn't even be necessary if it wasn't for “Wesley Hunt's vanity campaign.”
“Paxton’s problems aren’t just an issue in a Republican primary; they also threaten to put the Senate seat at risk due to his lack of strength against Democrat nominee Talarico," a memo from Cornyn's team said.
But Paxton and his allies are showing no signs of backing down.
“The D.C. establishment has done its job: it rallied around its wounded incumbent, opened the fundraising spigot, and flooded the airwaves. But the results, the data, and the reality on the ground all point to the same conclusion: John Cornyn has no viable path to the Republican nomination,” the pro-Paxton Lone Star PAC wrote in a memo. “Cornyn should suspend his campaign, concede the nomination to Ken Paxton, and refuse to allow another $100+ million in Republican resources to be burned in a race that is already decided.”
The only person who might be able to forestall the intraparty fight, or at least limit its fallout, is Trump. But the president has declined to endorse a candidate in the primary, describing all of them as “great,” and it was unclear if anything would change in the runoff.
Without Trump's support, Cornyn made it clear that he would make the case himself. He told reporters that Paxton would be “a dead weight at the top of the ticket for Republicans" in November.
“I’ve worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally,” Cornyn said. “I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years.”
Cornyn will face intense fundraising pressure, having already spent so much money in the first round of the primary. Aides said he had some small fundraisers planned but nothing in the days immediately after this week's vote as he returns to Washington.
In addition, Paxton's allies are confident that the political landscape will tilt in the attorney general's favor.
“The casual and moderate Republican voters who are most likely to support an establishment incumbent are the least likely to return for a runoff,” said the memo from the Lone Star PAC. “The committed conservative activists who form Paxton’s base are the most likely to show up.”
Follow the AP's coverage of the 2026 elections at https://apnews.com/hub/elections.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a primary election night watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to the media Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Myer)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a primary election night watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to the media Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Myer)
