Will Novak Djokovic make a push to defend his ATP Finals title in Turin?
He gave his answer in emphatic terms after securing a victory for Serbia on Saturday and it is clear that his targets are now very defined.
“ATP Finals are not my goal this year,” he declared.”That and rankings are not my main interest.
“I won everything I possibly could and main priorities are Grand Slams and playing for Serbia. I need some rest to figure out what I want and how much.”
Djokovic’s comments may have answered the question of where and when he will play for the rest of this year, as he would need to play a hectic schedule to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin in November.
After playing a limited schedule and suffering some surprise early losses in tournaments in the first half of 2024, Djokovic admitted he was struggling to find motivation for events outside of Grand Slams and his pursuit of Olympic gold.
His reduced tournament entries this year and failure to win a major title has contributed to his current position of No 9 in the ATP Race, meaning he has ground to make up in the battle to qualify for the end-of-year finals in Turin.
Djokovic has been reluctant to play in the Asian swing of the ATP Tour in recent years, but he may need to play in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai if he wants to collect points to qualify for Turin.
He could also make the long trip to Asia worthwhile by playing more events in that swing of the ATP Tour.
Djokovic then has an option to play ATP 500 tournaments in Europe at Vienna and Basel, before competing in the final ATP Masters tournament of the year in Paris in October.
If he plays three of four tournaments in the next few weeks, Djokovic would strongly fancy his chances of forcing his way up the ATP Race list to qualify for Turin.
After playing for Serbia in the Davis Cup this week, Djokovic is clearly keen to extend his career into 2025, but it remains to be seen how important the ATP Finals are to him, after winning the title seven times before.
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As he reflects on his year so far, Djokovic seems content that he finally got the Olympic gold medal that was his priority.
“I had the feeling that I could go all the way at Roland Garros, but then the injury occurred. I played finals at Wimbledon…The Olympics were my biggest goal, and I played my best tennis in Paris,” said the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
“If it’s that kind of year – me winning a golden Olympic medal without a Slam, I accept it because I’ve been waiting for that gold my whole life.
“It’s a fact that this is my worst season in terms of results in the last 15 years, I feel that way too, but it is what it is.”
Djokovic was scathing of his performance after his lost against Alexei Popyrin at the US Open, as he admitted he didn’t play at the level he expects of himself in a Grand Slam.
“Honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success,” said Djokovic in New York.
“I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly, serving by far the worst ever.
“If you play on a quick surface like this without the serve, without the ability to win free points there, very low first-serve percentage, many double faults, then you can’t win.
“You can’t win, especially against the guys who are in form like Alexei who is serving big, puts a lot of pressure on your service game. It was just an awful match for me.”
We now wait to see if Djokovic will play in Asia, but few would be surprised if he pulled out of that trip after confirming he is no longer chasing qualification for the ATP Finals.
