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Novak Djokovic will retire from tennis after the US Open if he no longer believes he can win the top tournaments, according to former French Open doubles champion Patrick McEnroe. The Serbian will be chasing a record 25th Grand Slam trophy at Flushing Meadows as he attempts to move beyond Margaret Court at the top of the all-time title standings at Majors.

Djokovic won his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in 2008 as he overcame Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the showpiece match. And his most recent triumph came at the 2023 US Open as he toppled Daniil Medvedev. But he has since fallen down the pecking order, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner now dominating the men's game.

Djokovic is due to face Learner Tien in his opening match at the US Open this year. And McEnroe speculated about the 38-year-old's future plans as he spoke to Forbes on an ESPN conference call.

"I think Novak definitely needs some help [to win the US Open]," McEnroe explained. "I think the bigger question we may be asking ourselves by the time this tournament is done, is will he come back? Will he be back? Because I have my doubts.

"I don't think he knows. I don't have any inside information. I don't think he knows, but what I do know is that he's not going to continue to play if he doesn't think he can win. And I think time's running out for him to win."

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Meanwhile, three-time Grand Slam runner-up Mary Joe Fernandez has suggested Djokovic will be unable to overcome Sinner or Alcaraz should he meet either of them in New York.

"I think he (Sinner) is starting to do everything Novak does just a bit better, so it's getting a little bit faster, a little bit harder," she said.

"And even Novak said it after Wimbledon, it's getting just a lot tougher to sustain at that level with that type of player.

"The draw is a big part of it, right? How does the draw pan out? Are there upsets? Do one of those two lose early? Then it's possible, you know, and that's why he's playing. You just never know how things are going to pan out."

Djokovic struggled to get going at last year's US Open as he was knocked out by Alexei Popyrin in the third round.

But he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year as he continues to progress to the latter stages of the big events.

And following his run at the All England Club, the veteran explained: "I think, regardless of the fact that I haven't won a Grand Slam this year, or last year, I still feel like I continue to play my best tennis at Grand Slams. Those are the tournaments that I care about at this stage of my career the most."