“No [it’s not about] playing as long as you can play,” McNamee said.

“He wants 25, there’s no doubt about it.”

Djokovic, who now has former rival Andy Murray as his coach on a short-term arrangement, said he still wants to “make more history”.

“[With] Andy and Rafa [Nadal], we knew that the end was coming. But both of them saying farewell to tennis in the same year, it’s a shock for all of us. It’s a shock for the tennis world because they are legends in our sport,” he said in a Sky Sports interview.

“I still will try to go strong because I feel like my body is serving me well. I still have motivation to win grand slams, make more history.

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“That’s one of the biggest reasons why I asked Andy to work with me. Because I still have big plans. So as long as that’s the case, I’ll keep going.

“I don’t have any date in my mind or any result after I achieve it potentially that I’m going to say goodbye and retire.

“I’ll keep going as much as I feel like I can be one of the candidates for the biggest titles.”

Djokovic has been playing the Australian Open for two decades, won it 10 times and achieved a level of pre-eminence at Melbourne Park unlike any other player, save for perhaps Margaret Court.

But he is a divisive figure Down Under, where he has a complex love-hate relationship with the fans.

This January’s event could be the Serbian’s farewell to Melbourne, prompting the question: Is Australia finally warming to him, or will he always be unloved?

McNamee believes that Djokovic, through his sheer weight of achievements, has belatedly earned admiration in the “toughest market for him in the world”.

The Serbian’s late-career respect has similarities to what Lleyton Hewitt experienced in Australia and what Jimmy Connors dealt with in the United States in the twilight of their careers, according to McNamee.

“People finally said ‘OK, fair enough, you’ve paid your dues, and we’re on board’,” McNamee said on the eve of the Australian Open.

“Even in Australia, I think there’s a softening to Novak now, believe it or not.

“Even the toughest market for him in the world, even though he won it 10 times … they see what he’s doing to help other players and causes.

“(But) it’s been very disappointing. It’s been the worst here [the worst relationship] of anywhere in the world,” said McNamee, who was AO tournament director when Djokovic first played in 2005.

“Just the average person in the street wouldn’t give him the time of day, questioned his authenticity.”

Frosty relationship

Djokovic’s winning run at Melbourne Park endured a significant hiccup three years ago when, after an emotionally charged fortnight, the federal government deported him on the eve of the tournament because of his stance on vaccination; a decision that was validated by a full bench of the Federal Court.

It magnified the ongoing tension between Australians and Djokovic.

Then, in another twist, it emerged last week Djokovic had claimed in a magazine interview that he was “poisoned” by the food he ingested in Melbourne detention during that infamous visa saga.

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But the love-hate dynamic had its genesis in the aftermath of him winning his first slam 17 years ago in Melbourne when Djokovic was victorious at the peak of the rivalry between Federer and Nadal. The Serbian, then aged 20, defeated Frenchman Jo Wilfried-Tsonga, a Muhammad Ali lookalike who enjoyed the bulk of the crowd support.

In his Open defence he wilted in the heat and retired mid-match in the 2009 quarter-finals, trailing Andy Roddick 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-2, 2-1. The criticism came thick and fast, including from Federer. “He’s not a guy who’s never given up before … it’s disappointing,” said Federer. “I’ve only done it once in my career … Andy totally deserved to win that match.

“If Novak were up two sets to love I don’t think he would have retired 4-0 down in the fourth.”

McNamee reflects on that period as a point of career transformation for Djokovic.

“Andy Roddick started it [the criticism] when he got cramps that time and he [Novak] didn’t finish the match. And Roger backed it up. They were calling him soft basically. Well, he fixed that.

“Then he [Djokovic] became quite holistic, worked on his diet, did enormous mental training and he’s [become] the consummate athlete.

“He admitted he wasn’t 100 per cent, but people felt he was soft. Well, it’s tough to call him soft now.”

Consistent professionalism

Tiley says Djokovic’s maniacal approach to his craft is what separates him from others.

“People say, ‘yeah, he wins a lot’. Yeah, he does, but he’s a winner before he gets on the court,” said Tiley.

“I’ve always been highly complimentary of his professional approach to preparing. I’ll often say that when other players see the way that Novak prepares, he’s already got most of them beat because they think ‘oh my god, I can’t make that commitment. That commitment is off the charts’.

“It’s how you eat, how you train, how you think, how you warm up, how you cool down, how you prepare your body physically.

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“And he’s always done it – I wouldn’t use the word old-fashioned because he’s done it with hard work, but he’s done it through a respected way. It’s just been good old hard work and ensuring that there’s not one stone left unturned when he walks onto the court.”

Other all-time greats have trained fanatically, notes Tiley, just not all the time.

“Not consistently to the level that he’s had,” he said.

“You saw it in Rafa and Roger, Serena [Williams], those great champions.

“Obviously [with Novak], he’s done that for longer. He’s done it consistently for longer, and I think that’s why he’s still out at age 38 still playing, and still doing well.”

Murray’s quest

In an intriguing subplot, Djokovic is seeking his 11th Australia Open title with former adversary Murray – a player he regularly beat up on in Melbourne – by his side.

McNamee sees parallels between Murray and Ivan Lendl, the Czech-American great who was in the coaching chair for both of Murray’s Wimbledon titles (2013 and 2016).

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“Ivan had never won Wimbledon, and he’d lost three times in the final,” remembered McNamee.

“And I said to him [when Murray won], ‘you’ve got your Wimbledon now, you’ve got your Wimbledon’.

“So I think for Andy. it would be massive if Novak won the Australian Open because he gets his Australian Open finally.”

Departure timing

Another of Djokovic’s former coaches, three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, says tennis will bleed badly when the Serb does eventually depart the sport.

“He’s won 24 grand slam titles and Olympic gold, and most would have stopped playing by now if they were in his place,” Becker told Serbian news site Nova.rs.

“Tennis needs Novak and that’s the main thing at this moment.

“I believe that Djokovic reaching the semi-final would be a great result for him in Melbourne, although I’m conscious, he wants to win. But, it’s important for tennis’ sake that he isn’t knocked out in the first or second round.”

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McNamee is acutely aware that the end could come soon.

“I might be wrong, but my gut feeling is that if he wins another slam the end will come quickly,” he said.

“If he wins one in 2025, I have doubts he would play in 2026.

“From an Australian Open perspective … we may not see him again.”

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