How Novak Djokovic ‘The Wolf In Winter’ Could Win The 2026 U.S. Open

InnovationHealthcareHow Novak Djokovic ‘The Wolf In Winter’ Could Win The 2026 U.S. OpenByBruce Y. Lee, Senior Contributor. Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., MBA, covers health, medicine, wellness and scienceFollow AuthorAug 23, 2026, 08:48pm EDTAug 23, 2026, 08:49pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.SummaryA new film, "The Wolf in Winter," directed by Jason Hehir (known for "The Last Dance"), offers a timely look into Novak Djokovic's remarkable career longevity. Debuting on Prime Video, the documentary explores what drives the 39-year-old tennis legend, who holds a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles, to remain dominant against much younger competitors. Hehir emphasized the film focuses on a "moment in time" rather than a full biography, delving into Djokovic's resilience and fighting spirit. The title "Wolf" symbolizes his courage, cunning, and independence, mirroring Serbia's national animal. The film aims to provide insight into how Djokovic maintains his elite performance well past typical retirement age, offering lessons for personal health. He is currently seeded fourth in the U.S. Open, continuing to defy expectations. Show More Tennis great Novak Djokovic (L) and director Jason Hehir speak onstage during the "Novak Djokovic: The Wolf In Winter" World Premiere at MOMA on July 16, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Prime Video)Getty Images for Prime VideoWhen titling a film about who Novak Djokovic is right now, director Jason Hehir thought about a four-letter word that’s also the name of a four legged animal covered in fur. But it’s not the word that many may think of first when considering Djokovic, the man who has won more singles Grand Slam tennis championships (24) than any other man. No, the name that eventually made it to the title of this latest Hehir-directed film was “wolf”—as in Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter. And watching this film that debuted August 20 on Prime video will give you more insight into how the 39-years-old Djokovic has weathered storms and maintained his remarkable tennis career longevity and where “wolf” might apply to your own health and life. Novak Djokovic: Wolf In Winter Represents Where Djokovic Is Right NowThe wolf, by the way, is the national animal of Serbia, Djokovic’s home country, revered for its courage, cunning and a fierce independent spirit whereas “Winter” could describe where Djokovic is currently in his overall professional tennis playing career, which began in 2003. Djokovic is not exactly a Spring chicken anymore. And Hehir—who had directed the 2020 film The Last Dance that focused on Michael Jordan’s final 1997-1998 season with the Chicago Bulls—did recently emphasize to me, “We said 'Let’s make a movie about this guy’ but with the condition that we’re going to make a movie about a moment in time, in his life. We’re not going to try and tell the definitive life story of Novak Djokovic not the least of which reason is that it's still going on.” If you do end up having a long successful career in anything, you will likely eventually face the Winter of it—which as exhibited in the play and film The Lion in Winter is when your abilities, skills and standing have eroded with age and adversity. Such a season can prompt others to constantly wonder and even ask when you are yielding the throne. And the 'R" word is a question that Djokovic is asked about frequently, which can elicit a big “grrrrr” from his. Djokovic during a sneak preview of the film in New York City in July emphasized how he is not retired yet, emphasizing that he is still “proving to myself that I can still win.” He is doing a good job at it, too, being currently ranked fifth in the world among men’s singles players. He lost in the finals of 2026 Australian Open to Carlos Alcaraz in four sets and the semifinals of Wimbledon to Jannick Sinner, retiring—from just that match and not his career—due to injury. That would be a freaking good year for most tennis players. Djokovic At Age 39 Is Seeded Fourth In The 2026 U.S. Open Men’s Singles Draw Novak Djokovic of Serbia is seeded fourth in the men's singles draw of the upcoming 2026 edition of the U.S. Open. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)Getty ImagesMORE FOR YOUAnd Djokovic is going forth—and “fourth”—to play in the 2026 U.S. Open. He is seeded fourth in the men’s singles draw that begins August 30, behind only the 29-year-old Alexander Zverev, the 23-year-old Alcaraz and the 25-year-old Félix Auger-Aliassime. The rest of the top ten are all GenZers as well with the exception of the eighth-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who is barely a Millennial at 30 years of age. Being the fourth seed keeps him in the coveted not-meet-anyone-seeded-above-him-until-the-semifinals position, which puts him in a very good position to go forth and conquer his fifth U.S. Open title. “I thought to myself, we have the opportunity here to tell the story of a GOAT and his sport when he is still dominant over just about everyone except a couple of guys in the world,” Hehir explained. “And what he is grappling with, what drives him— now that he has accomplished everything there is to accomplish more than any other tennis player has ever accomplished—what drives him to keep on going, and what is pulling at him off the court, which is being a dad, being a husband, pursuing other things outside of tennis.” Hehir Found Djokovic To Be 'Really Intelligent, Really Curious’ When Djokovic’s team first talked to Hehir about doing a documentary, Hehir didn’t exactly, umm, “wolf” the possibility up initially. “I am a casual tennis fan, not a fanatic,” recalled Hehir. “So I knew who Novak was, obviously, but didn’t know much more about him than the average sportsman. So I had my doubts about how difficult he might be to work with because I knew what his reputation was as being kind of obstinate , stubborn and maybe arrogant, you know, all these misconceptions that that drive him crazy.” However, over time while “kicking the tires” of this idea, Hehir came to realize that “This guy is fascinating” and “That this is a really intelligent, really curious person.” For example, Hehir was struck by how “He was really curious from the get go about what my approach was to make a film. Like how do you go about it? What’s the research process? How do you decide how many days you’re gonna shoot?” Djokovic Pays Attention To The Details Of His LifeAn important detail about Djokovic is how closely he pays attention to all the details of his fitness and health. “I never saw him consume one thing that wasn’t the highest grade, healthy meal or beverage or anything you can have," recalled Hehir. “The first time that we met was in Montenegro. It was like 105 degrees at night over there, and he had a drink in front of him that looked like a lemonade and really refreshing.” Hehir naturally asked the waiter for the same thing, and the waiter gave Hehir this OK-are-you-sure type of look. When the waiter did come back with the drink, “It was tepid, lukewarm celery juice or something like that,” Hehir remarked. “It was not refreshing at all. It was gross.” Djokovic has a chef with a reputation of preparing delicious food who travels with him and makes him “perfectly healthy meals all the time,” in the words of Hehir. “I was excited but we had a salad with no dressing on it and grilled chicken that wasn’t seasoned. It wasn’t anything like you would have at a restaurant.” Djokovic is very disciplined in maintaining such routines. “If a layman tried to adopt this regimen, they would find it really challenging and nearly impossible,” Hehir mentioned. “But the impossible is just his mundane at this point.” A Lot Of Djokovic’s Daily Life Is MundaneSpeaking of mundane, there can be a misconception that a top athlete’s is filled with limelight-like stuff. Hehir, though, remarked how mundane Djokovic’s life can be. “I wish I had shocking anecdotes that didn’t make it into the movie,” said Hehir. “A lot of it, as you probably observed with athletes, is boring. It’s getting up, meditating for that half hour, needing a healthy breakfast, hitting balls for an hour and a half, watching film and resting.” Proving People Wrong Helps Motivate Djokovic As It Does Michael JordanAnother quality of Djokovic’s to Air, so to speak, is something that Jordan also has displayed in abundance. “Michael and Novak are very similar in that there really is nothing more for them to achieve or to prove,” Hehir explained. “And yet when you ask them what gets them out of bed in the morning, it’s to prove people wrong.” Hehir related how Jordan had said the thing that he missed most about playing in the NBA was “proving people wrong. Now, at what point did people doubt Michael Jordan?” Similarly, how many people are going to tell Djokovic that he’s only won 10 Australian Open titles, seven Wimbledon titles, four U.S. Open titles and four French Open titles and doubt whether he’ll ever make anything of himself as a tennis player? “So these guys now have to conjure up doubt in thin air, conjure a motivation,” Hehir explained. “In Novak’s case, he has to look into the crowd and find someone who was booing him or find someone who was talking smack, and dedicate the rest of the match to proving that person wrong or shutting that person up. And he revels in that, loves it.” Both Hehir and Djokovic mentioned Djokovic ability to pick out that one person booing him in a crowd of thousands cheering for him. “There is a word in Serbian called inat,” Djokovic explained during the movie screening. “When people doubt you, when everyone is basically against you, that’s when you use that inat, that force of stubbornness to prove everybody wrong. That inat is actually quite widespread in the mentality of Serbian people.” He also mentions inat in the following trailer of the movie: When Djokovic was told that 90 percent of the people in focus groups who had watched The Wolf in Winter thought more highly of him afterwards, Djokovic initial response was like “What about the 10 percent?” That’s even though a 90 percent score is grand slam high and would more than satisfy most. But again Djokovic is not like most people. Djokovic’s Experiences Have Helped Shaped His Current ApproachEven though the film is not meant to tell the entire story of Djokovic’s life, to understand the present you do have to understand at least a little of his past. So, the film does show snippets of Djokovic’s childhood growing up in war-torn Belgrade. You’ll see some of the sacrifices that his family made and how Djokovic’s tennis talent represented a way out for them, how at a young age a lot was swinging on Djokovic’s ability to swing a racket. “With Novak, his childhood was so fraught with danger and fear and a realization that tomorrow is never promised,” Hehir said. “So I don’t know how that that connects to his competitiveness or his monomaniacal focus. I do think there’s a desire to be loved and appreciated.” The film does present a more vulnerable side of Djokovic, one that people packing a tennis stadium may not see and one that Djokovic may not have always been game to serve up publicly. But to fully understand and appreciate what Djokovic has achieved on the court, it does help to see this different spin on who he is. Djokovic Himself Focuses On The Here And NowIt is fitting, though, that The Wolf in Winter focuses on the here and now with Djokovic and neither the past nor the present. Because that’s what Djokovic does. As Hehir related, “I have noticed in dealing with elite athletes, that maybe their greatest superpower is their ability to live in the present and not dwell on past mistakes or disappointments, and not fear what’s to come.” Hehir went on to say, “Most of us don’t have that ability.” Hehir emphasized that beyond the elite athletic ability, Djokovic, if he’s down 40-15, 5-3, in the fifth set of a major, would be able to focus solely on how to win the next point whereas “Most of us would think, ‘[bleep], if I miss this next point, it’s over.’" Only after that point is done will Djokovic move on to the next point. Hehir also noted that “He doesn’t really dwell on things that happen in the past. If you prime enough, he’ll talk about the past, but he’s not an open book and not giving you anecdotes about the past unless you really earn that trust.” Speaking of the past and the future, even though Djokovic may be in the Winter of his tennis playing career, don’t expect to put his career on ice anytime soon. Who knows whether this Winter will last one, two or many more years. The past of tennis doesn’t really apply because Djokovic has already proven that he is an anomaly. In his longevity in the sport, he is after all a lone wolf. Editorial StandardsReprints & PermissionsLOADING VIDEO PLAYER...FORBES’ FEATURED VideoExplore Topic