It’s increasingly becoming a now-or-never situation for Novak Djokovic.

The more time passes, the less likely the 38-year-old Djokovic will win the coveted 25th Grand Slam title.

If Djokovic wants to overtake Australia’s Margaret Court for the most major wins, he would be wise to do it at Melbourne Park.

History shows how much he loved this place. Djokovic has won 10 Australian Open men’s titles, winning 102 of 112 matches on Melbourne’s hard courts.

Given his body of work, his fans are beginning to believe the stars are aligned, and there are several recent reasons to believe that.

First, fourth-seeded Djokovic recklessly cracked the ball near the ball girl and narrowly escaped during his third-round win over Botic van de Zandsschulp.

Djokovic admitted afterwards that he was “lucky.” If the ball had hit the girl, he would almost certainly have defaulted and his second attempt at number 25 would have been aborted due to his own negligence.

Second, Djokovic was handed a bye on Sunday after his opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew from the last-16 match with an injury.

Some players may get cold after not playing for three days.

Given Djokovic’s progress over the years and ability to find his best form even when he’s not playing regularly, it feels like a bonus heading into Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

Feeling fresher by playing fewer games than his future opponents (Lorenzo Musetti in Wednesday’s quarter-finals, and potentially Carlos Alcaraz or Yannick Ciner after that) could be crucial.

Third, Djokovic knows his aura and game have dominated Musetti in the past and he remains the favorite to reach the last four.

Italy’s fifth-seeded Musetti, who has lost nine of 10 matches against Djokovic, admitted he has not been “clinical or ruthless” in the past.