Novak Djokovic’s season may be over already. As everyone knows, the former world number 1 decided not to defend his title won last year in Paris-Bercy, putting his participation in the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin at serious risk. The Serbian champion is virtually qualified for the ATP Finals, where he lifted the trophy in 2022 and 2023 beating Casper Ruud and Jannik Sinner respectively in the final, but his priorities have changed at this stage of his career.
After a premature loss to Alexei Popyrin in the first week of the US Open, the 24-time Grand Slam champion played the Davis Cup tie against Greece in Belgrade. Subsequently – thanks also to the probable intercession of sponsors – the 37-year-old from Belgrade returned to China five years later to play in the Masters 1000 in Shanghai. Nole reached the final with a good tennis performances during his run, but failed to win his 100th title by surrendering to Sinner in two sets.
Djokovic was one of the protagonists of the ‘Six Kings Slam‘ in Saudi Arabia, the much-discussed exhibition that awarded an almost immoral prize money to all participants ($1.5 million for participation alone). The feeling is that Djokovic no longer wants to play second-tier tournaments and he wants to prepare well for the next season, in which he will give the assault on his 25th Grand Slam title.
Nole is not practicing
Novak will need all his energy to shock the world for the umpteenth time, being aware that the exponential growth of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will require him to make the maximum effort in 2025. To date, it seems highly unlikely that Nole will participate in the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. Not only has the Serbian legend decided to miss the last Masters 1000 of the season in Paris-Bercy, but she is not even practicing. The former world number 1 is enjoying a holiday in Maldives with his family and does not seem to be going back to tennis in 2024.
In a recent interview with ‘Sky Sport Italy’, former Roger Federer’s coach Ivan Ljubicic opened up on Novak’s current status: “I don’t know, and I believe he doesn’t know either at the moment. In my opinion, his goal is definitely the tournaments and not the ranking because to climb higher, he would have to play much more. He is neither physically nor mentally prepared for it, but he showed us in Shanghai that when he wants to compete, he can challenge the best. I doubt he will play in Turin this year, but he will try again next year.”
The 37-year-old from Belgrade hasn’t won an ATP title this year and – for the first time since 2017 – hasn’t even won a Major. During this season, Novak also had to undergo knee surgery due to an injury sustained during the French Open. Despite the surgery being several months old, Djokovic has continued to wear his brace for the rest of the season and has complained about some knee discomfort in recent tournaments.
Djokovic is already thinking about 2025
The 24-time Grand Slam champion will be 38 years old in 2025 and – although he claims to still be very motivated – it could be his last chance to enrich his glorious wall. Moreover, 2024 marked the end of an era. After Roger Federer retired two years ago, Andy Murray has said goodbye to the tour this summer and Rafael Nadal is set to do so next month.
The Spanish legend will play the last event of his career at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, trying to help his country lift the trophy. Many wonder if Novak will still be hungry on the professional tour even without all the rivals that have characterized his career. 2025 will provide us with all the answers to these questions, waiting for Djokovic’s decision on the Nitto ATP Finals.
In the latest edition of the ‘Served with Andy Roddick’ podcast, the former American ace commented on Nole’s schedule: “I mean Novak has said that in so many words and we don’t want this to take the focus away from Tommy Paul, but Novak is going to pick and choose his spots now. He’s going to try to juggle the schedule, where he gets enough matches before Majors but really, my interpretation of how Novak is talking is that he doesn’t care about ranking anymore.
He knows what he’s been, can’t take away the number one ranking forever. He’s had it more weeks than anyone. This is how the next phase of his career is going to go, where he picks and chooses his spots, doesn’t care about Paris, isn’t going to play Turin,” he added.
