Novak Djokovic could still win three majors next year but Gilles Simon reminded tennis fans the world number one is not "eternal" as he heads towards the end of his career.
Djokovic triumphed in three of the four majors in 2023, with September's US Open success taking him level with Margaret Court's record 24 grand slam triumphs.
Defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final, Djokovic – aged 36 years and 111 days – became the oldest winner of the men's singles title at the US Open, as well as winning a trio of majors in a year for the fourth time.
That saw him surpass Roger Federer – who won three grand slams in a year on three occasions.
Simon, though, warned that Djokovic cannot play on forever.
He told Stats Perform: "I think he can win some [majors, but] I think he's getting to an age where it is going to become difficult.
"Most of the observers want to believe that a player is eternal but none are more eternal than the others.
"I think he can win a lot next year; will he win one, two or three? Next year he can do one more big year, but I also think that it will be his last."
The 36-year-old Djokovic acknowledged the retirement speculation after his US Open victory, asking how long he can continue.
Simon likened the twilight of Djokovic's career to fellow great Federer, whose playing days were curtailed by injury and fitness issues.
"At one point like every player there's going to be a break, that was the case for Roger Federer, remember when he won in Australia at the age of 37 playing incredible tennis," Simon added.
"At Wimbledon, he could have won because he lost against Novak Djokovic on match point. Time never had a grip on him, he had never been injured, he played really well, and then all of a sudden he disappears."
Another of tennis' 'Big Three', Rafael Nadal has not played since January 18 at the Australian Open – again owing to injury problems as years of toiling on the court takes its toll on even the best.
"We have Rafael Nadal who we hope to see again next year, who got us accustomed to more traditional injuries, longer injuries and with doubts," Simon continued.
"Once again he wins the Australian Open, he wins at Roland Garros even with his history with his foot, he again has a semi-final at Wimbledon.
"We say no about Novak because he is more careful, but we said the same about Federer, he expends less energy, he has a more fluid game and technique, he preserved himself from injury.
"I think next year will be very interesting because it’s a year where he can again win, where he still has an advantage [ahead of the rest] but we saw him lose against [Carlos] Alcaraz at Wimbledon.
"I thought he would have more advantage on grass because of the experience he has compared to others and his game works so well on grass – but he is beatable."
Age has shown no sign of slowing Djokovic down yet after he lifted the Paris Masters trophy for a seventh time on Sunday, defeating Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.
That victory marked his second hard-court ATP-1000 title of 2023, Djokovic managing multiple Masters titles in a single season for the ninth time in his career. Only Federer, having won multiple such events in a year six times in his time, can get near to that feat.
Yet Simon suggested 30 major triumphs may be out of Djokovic's reach due to the emergence of Alcaraz, who won at Wimbledon this year, and a gruelling schedule.
"He's so strong he knows how to prepare himself, but he can't do a series of tournaments," said the Frenchman, who won 14 career titles and reached a high of number six in the ATP rankings.
"If everything was going well he would be playing every week like when he was 25 years old, so that is what is missing.
"He looks after himself, ultra-professional and very strong. The US Open was important for him, I see him maybe doing one or two next year, but I am waiting to see for the next few years after that.
"I can't see him reaching 30 [majors] for example when Carlos Alcaraz could win two or three a year – I wish it for him but I don't see it like that."
The Rolex Paris Masters became the first Masters 1000 to broadcast its qualifying matches on Twitch, live on Rivenzi's channel.
Sinner and Berrettini send defending champions Italy into Davis Cup final
Jannik Sinner's victory over Alex de Minaur clinched Italy's place in another Davis Cup final, with Matteo Berrettini also victorious as the defending champions beat Australia 2-0.
Italy won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976 last year, and they will have an opportunity to defend their crown against the Netherlands on Sunday.
Former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini got the ball rolling with an entertaining 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, not surrendering a break after losing the opener in a tie-break.
That teed up Sinner to close out Italy's victory, with the world number one overcoming De Minaur 6-3 6-4, the same scoreline he beat the Australian by at the ATP Finals earlier this month.
Speaking after his victory in Malaga, Sinner said: "It means a lot. It was a tough encounter, playing Alex. We know each other quite well now, so I have to be very careful every time.
"It's a very tough challenge for me, so I was looking forward to this one. Obviously, it helped a lot that Matteo won the singles today. He played amazing tennis. It was very high quality.
"Hopefully, this can give us some confidence for [Sunday]. It's going to be a very difficult and tough day for us and also the Netherlands."
Data Debrief: Back-to-back for Italy
Italy's men are looking to follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts, who won the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week.
They are just the third nation in history to make back-to-back finals at both the Davis Cup and the Federation/Billie Jean King Cup, after the United States (1963-64, 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1990-91) and Australia (1963-64 and 1964-65).
Djokovic appoints Murray as coach for Australian Open
Novak Djokovic has announced his long-term former rival Andy Murray as his coach for the Australian Open in 2025.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam winner, announced his retirement earlier this year and played his final match at the Paris Olympics in August.
He will join Djokovic's team in the off-season and coach him through the opening grand slam of the year, which begins on January 12.
This will be Murray's first coaching role since retiring following a 19-year career.
"We played each other since we were boys. 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits," Djokovic said in a video on social media.
"We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. They called us game changers, risk-takers, history makers.
"I thought our story may be over - turns out it has one final chapter.
"It's time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome onboard coach, Andy Murray."
Djokovic failed to win a major title for the first time since 2017, though he did clinch a long-awaited Olympic gold medal in Paris.
The Serb is currently level with Margaret Court for the most major singles titles by any player. He has a good record in Australia though, winning 10 times in Melbourne, beating Murray in four of those finals.
Murray, who beat Djokovic to win the US Open title in 2012 and Wimbledon the following year, says he hopes they can achieve success together.
"I'm going to be joining Novak's team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open," Murray said.
"I'm really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals."
Girona 4-1 Espanyol: Miovski bags double as hosts ride on first-half blitz
Bojan Miovski scored twice as Girona thrashed Espanyol 4-1 in LaLiga at Estadi Municipal de Montilivi on Saturday.
Bryan Gil and Ladislav Krejci were also on the scoresheet as the home side raced to a 4-0 lead inside the first half hour, with Javi Puado scoring the visiting side's only goal after the break.
After the match was halted because of a fan being taken ill in the crowd, Gil opened the scoring when he unleashed a stunning long-range strike into the bottom corner with four minutes on the clock.
Gil was behind the second goal for Michel's side too, as he capitalised on a defensive error and crossed to Miovski, who made it 2-0 in the 16th minute before the pair combined again for a third five minutes later.
Donny van de Beek's header from Yaser Asprilla's corner was pushed in by Krejci for Girona's fourth in the 27th minute.
Espanyol got a consolation goal 10 minutes into the second half when Puado hit a long-range strike that found the back of Paulo Gazzaniga's net.
Girona, last season's surprise package, climbed to fifth in LaLiga with 21 points, while Espanyol are 19th and in the relegation zone with 10 points.
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