Novak Djokovic is very close to another huge milestone

10/02/2024 06:30 AM

Novak Djokovic has not won an ATP title yet this year and hasn’t even won a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2017, for the second time since 2011. Many fans and insiders have seen some signs of decline in the Serbian legend, which turned 37 in 2024.

The former world number 1 is still very happy with his season, having achieved his great goal of winning the gold medal for his country at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In what was probably his last chance at the Olympics, Nole showed off his best tennis in the decisive moment by defeating 4-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz in a truly memorable final on the iconic Philippe Chatrier court.

In a recent interview, the current number 4 of the world has confided that in future he will only play those events in which he feels really motivated. Novak’s season could be over soon: the 37-year-old from Belgrade will play the Shanghai Masters 1000 and the 'Six Kings Slam' in Saudi Arabia this month, while there are no certainties about his schedule in November.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion may decide to close his year well in advance to prepare for 2025, when he will try to win the 25th Major of his legendary career. Meanwhile, the former world number 1 has arrived in Shanghai to play the eighth Masters 1000 of the season. Nole is on the hunt for his fourth triumph in China, where he had been missing since 2019.

One of the most anticipated players in Shanghai is definitely Novak Djokovic. After the Olympic success in Paris that gave him that one success that was missing from his amazing career, a US Open in which he was eliminated in the third round by Alexei Popyrin and a challenge in the Davis Cup, the Serbian tennis player is on the court in Shanghai, Tournament in which he has been missing since 2019.

High expectations obviously surround Novak Djokovic in every tournament he plays with the Serb who declared a few weeks ago that his priorities at this stage of his career are the Grand Slam tournaments and the matches he plays for Serbia. At this moment Djokovic is not even sure of being present in Turin at the ATP Finals because he is not among the top 8 players in the world in the Race.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has made it clear that this is not his priority: Its schedule from now until the end of the year includes only the exhibition in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia that obviously does not give ATP points and is scheduled immediately after the end of the tournament in Shanghai and the Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy.

Djokovic has been in China for a few days and has taken part in several advertising events with his sponsors. The 24-time Slam champion has won this tournament 4 times and chose the 1000 of Shanghai as his only stop in the Asian tour when he had been present in Beijing. And on the Shanghai centre court, Djokovic trained with one of the local idols, Zhizhen Zhang.

Good crowd on the stands to follow this training session. We recall that Djokovic was drawn at the bottom of the table together with Alexander Zverev and will play in the debut against the winner of the match between Michelsen and the surprising home player Bu who did so much good this week in Beijing to the point of Semifinal where he was defeated by Jannik Sinner.

The Serbian ace will try to set another record in Shanghai, as he could overtake his great rival Roger Federer in the standings of matches won on hard courts.

In a recent interview with Eurosport, tennis legend and top analyst John McEnroe paid tribute to Djokovic: “He is smart, he is interesting and he is one of the players who you know will give you value for money. It makes no sense, but I think people will appreciate him more now because Carlos Alcaraz has come along and he can still compete with a guy from a different generation.

He’s done an incredible job of handling that negativity. He has this reputation for being the bad guy, the Darth Vader. I don’t know if it’s because of the way he looks, where he is from… there are all types of reasons and they make no sense. I like to see emotion on the court. He wears his emotions on his sleeve, he is inspired by people booing against him. What more can you ask for from an athlete? To me, it is like a no-brainer and for whatever reason, he has been short-changed by the fans.”