Mumbai, Jan. 17 -- "Tank half empty" and "gassed out". Novak Djokovic signed off the previous two Grand Slams muttering these terms that ring a surprising bell coming from him. Surprising, given that the Serb has been the epitome of fitness, endurance and physicality in tennis over the past decade. Surprising also given that despite the reality of an ageing 38-year-old body denting those aspects, he pocketed Slams in his mid-thirties and progressed to the semi-finals of all four last year. It's this strange, paradoxical situation that the 24-time Slam champion finds himself in as he begins another season at the 2026 Australian Open, seeking the elusive 25th and to shake up a recurring theme of late. Good enough to still beat 98 out of 100 players on the tour - younger, older, of any kind - but not quite the two that he invariably runs into deep in Slams. And by then, against those younger, fresher and sharper bodies, this 38-year-old stands half a chance coming in with a "tank half empty", as Djokovic assessed after last year's Wimbledon. He was beaten in straight sets by Jannik Sinner in the semi-final then, a similar result at the same stage at the French. The Australian Open semis mid-match retirement against Alexander Zverev, after beating Carlos Alcaraz, came as a one-off but also a sign. And when he was defeated in the US Open semis by Alcaraz in straight sets, the storyline was repetitive enough even for Djokovic. "It's kind of what I felt this year also with Jannik," Djokovic said at the season-ending major. "Best-of-five makes it very, very difficult for me to play them. Particularly if it's like the end stages of the Grand Slam." Familiar names potentially await Djokovic at those end stages of this Australian Open too, as Thursday's draw revealed - Sinner in the semis and Alcaraz in the final. New season, same old challenge. Australia, apart from the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly, could thus present a fascinating subplot on how this legend, who has prided on superior physicality for more than half his career, goes about addressing being physically outdone by the two late in it. "As far fitness goes, Djokovic is the Cristiano Ronaldo of football or LeBron James of basketball," Ramji Srinivasan, former strength and conditioning coach of the Indian men's cricket team, said. "But as you age, your entire bio clock slows down. That he is still able to beat players half his age despite that is incredible. Having said that, how do you progress from there? It has to be smart work, focussed a lot more on recovery, both mentally and physically. Recovery becomes as important as training. It becomes more of a strategic game than a physical game." In terms of his game per say, the world No.4 is still the third best men's player out there. His stats from 2025 show that. The oldest man in the Open era to make all four Slam semis in a season pocketed two more ATP titles and enters 2026 having won 27 of his previous 31 matches. Such is his level and consistency even now that Djokovic lands into the second week of Slams almost as if it's a given. However, it's how much the first week takes out of him physically that shapes how competitive he remains in the mind and the body taking on Sinner or Alcaraz in the semis. In Melbourne last year, the 10-time champion was made to go four sets in his first couple of rounds. In London and New York, he played three four-setters coming into the last-four clash. Opponents, even those in the first week, are targeting a specific chink in Djokovic that was, ironically, his greatest weapon not long ago. "They would've studied him - how to make him tired, make him run more, make him over-stretch, make him sprint, accelerate and decelerate," Srinivasan said. "The more time Novak spends on court, the more the probability of injuries and fatigue. They will target his physical missing links. Like, for example, how Virat Kohli was targetted outside the off stump (late in his Test career)." Djokovic's last competitive act was winning the ATP 250 Athens title in early November. He pulled out of the Adelaide tune-in event saying he wasn't physically ready to compete. He has checked into Melbourne Park fresher and, by all accounts from there, looked sharp in exhibition matches. Djokovic seems loaded up to have a crack in another Slam. How his tank reloads as the rounds progress could define the most telling battleground against his two of his most familiar foes now....