Ivan Ljubicic, in an exclusive interview with Sky Sport, shared an interesting news about Novak Djokovic, linked to his participation (or not) in the ATP Finals. According to the Roger Federer’s former coach, in fact, the Serbian champion would be on vacation in the Maldives with his family, thus making his participation in the year-end Masters very difficult.
“Djokovic is currently on vacation in the Maldives, I think there is a 50% chance that he will go to Turin. It depends on him, whether he wants to play or not. If he does not go to Turin, then Grigor Dimitrov, Andrey Rublev and Alex De Minaur can enter. There are minimal differences. “Tefanos Tsitsipas I see further away, especially for his level of tennis. But there is still everything to play for. Too bad for the Italians, it is the first Masters 1000 in which there were no Italian victories. But this season it went well, it’s just an episode,” said the Croatian.
The question that everyone is asking is: will Nole participate in the Nitto ATP Finals, if he were to qualify? An interesting question, especially in light of the disappointing performances of many players fighting for qualification, such as Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev, in recent weeks. Despite having decided not to take part in the Paris Rolex Masters and skip other important events during the season, the Serbian champion could still qualify for the year-end Masters. However, the big question mark remains over his will, regardless of what the ATP Race to Turin will say, which currently sees him still in 6th position.
Already a few days ago Ljubicic, again speaking to Sky Sport, had expressed himself on the future of the 24-time Slam champion, analyzing: “What do I expect from Djokovic? I don’t know and I don’t think he knows either at the moment. It’s a moment where he aims to win important tournaments and not to climb the rankings. To climb the rankings you have to play more, but he is not physically and mentally ready for this now. In Shanghai, however, he showed us that when he decides to play, he is the one who can worry the best. I doubt he will play the ATP Finals, but next year he will try again.”
As mentioned, Nole had chosen not to participate in the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy. The Serbian champion – after officially canceling the French event – wanted to write a message to his fans opening up the possibility of playing the tournament next year. A choice that sent a clear signal in view of this end of the season. Regardless of what the Race to Turin will say, the Serbian champion could in fact skip the Nitto ATP Finals even if he were to qualify.
Through a story published on his Instagram account, Djokovic recalled the historic victories achieved in the tournament and wrote: “Unfortunately I will not play the Rolex Paris Masters this year. I apologize to everyone who was hoping to see me play there. I wish all the players, sponsors, organizers and fans a great tournament. I have so many great memories after winning the title seven times and I hope to return next year.”
In the meantime, a few days ago Jelena Ristic, Djokovic’s wife, gave an interesting interview to La Nacion, in which she talked about her husband’s future, analyzing in depth: “Now I travel less because of the children, there are many tournaments and Nole’s career is moving forward. Now he is choosing the right places to go, it’s not my business, so he will do what he wants for as long as he wants. The children love what he does and I support him, we are very proud of him. If we can help him stay longer on the circuit, we will do it. The gold medal in Paris 2024? I was in the stands crying with happiness, thinking about what would happen next. The Olympic gold was a very difficult goal to achieve, it took him a long time but I know for sure that he will not stop here. Novak is a giant in terms of mental and spiritual capacity, it is an honor to live with him and to have had the opportunity to draw inspiration from him. The many successes and achievements collected during these twenty years? It was an impossible dream, something he imagined as a child. The truth is that there were very few people in his path to help him, but he was always a mental giant. For me it was a fairy tale, I could not have imagined all this.”
