Chrissie Evert says if Novak Djokovic wins a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, he may retire.

Or at least, she would understand if he chose to hang up his sneakers after setting the all-time record for men’s or women’s tennis.

“I think if he wins the 25th major, I would think that he would leave the game,” Evert, who won 18 major singles titles during her career, said Tuesday on an ESPN conference call ahead of the start of the Open on Monday. “He’d break that tie with Margaret Court.”

Evert added: “I would allow him to retire after that. OK, you have everybody in the world’s permission to retire. That would be epic if he could do that. But he’s a very driven person beyond anybody that I’ve ever seen.”

Djokovic, 37, is currently tied with Court at 24 major titles. He is the all-time men’s leader and stands two ahead of longtime rival Rafael Nadal (22) and four clear of retired legend Roger Federer (20).

Djokovic, who is slated to play a pickleball exhibition against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Thursday, seemed to solidify his GOAT status by beating Carlos Alcaraz in the gold-medal match at the Paris Olympics earlier this month to capture the one major title that eluded him.

“I’m amazed he’s kept this motivated for this long,” ESPN’s John McEnroe said on the call. “I wish I knew [how he did it] because I would’ve kept myself going. It’s absolutely amazing.

“As far as the future, you would think at some point soon he’s going to lose the motivation and something will catch up to him. He’s proved us wrong a lot [of] times.”

Djokovic has said that when he does retire he hopes it resembles the experience Federer had at the Laver Cup in 2022 when he played his final match — in doubles alongside his fiercest rival Nadal — in front of an adoring crowd.

“Seeing his kids and his family, it got me emotional as well,” Djokovic said then. “I also must say I was thinking about how it would look for me when I say goodbye to tennis.

“There is definitely one thing that I will wish to have, other than, of course, my family and the close people in my life, I would love to have my biggest rivals and competitors there. Because it added something more special, added more importance to that moment.”

Asked if a record 25th major, and fifth in New York, would solidify his GOAT status, McEnroe said it would be “gravy.”

Added Evert: “It would be Herculean if he wins this tournament and gets to 25. I think hands down he would have to be the greatest male player ever. I think he already is in a lot of people’s minds.

“To have won the Olympics, for him to come back and find that resilience and find that level of tennis that we haven’t seen the whole year because he hasn’t won a tournament all year except of the Olympics.

“It’s a fairy tale. I believe in karma. This guy has worked his butt off his whole life and put up a lot with the press and being the bad guy with Federer and Nadal, he deserves it all.”