Novak Djokovic makes 'spontaneous' schedule confession as he admits he is 'done' with certain tournaments
09/16/2024 02:39 AM
Novak Djokovic is not too fussed about qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals or competing in “smaller” tournaments as the tennis great has confirmed that his schedule is “more spontaneous” these days.
Playing in his first event since his shock third-round exit from the US Open, Djokovic steered Serbia to victory over Greece in the Davis Cup World Group I tie in Belgrade as he won his singles rubber in straight sets and then teamed up with Hamad Medjedovic in the doubles to give the hosts the 3-1 win.
His next ATP Tour event will be the Shanghai Masters, which runs from October 2-7, but it now appears highly unlikely that he will appear in any other tournaments during the final few months of the season, including the ATP Finals.
Djokovic is the defending ATP Finals champion, but he currently finds himself outside of the qualifying positions with only the top eight players in the rankings competing in the season-ending event.
But whereas in the past he would have been desperate to book his place in the tournament and played as many events as possible to ensure qualification, the 24-time Grand Slam winner has made it clear that the Grand Slams and Serbia are at the top of his list of priorities and “everything else is less important”.
“Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings etc,” he told reporters in Serbia.
“As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play other tournaments this year or in the future, I can't say right now.
“My main priorities are playing for the national team and Slams, everything else is less important.”
Novak Djokovic News
'Novak Djokovic will be a candidate to win Grand Slam titles at the age of 40 if he wants to'
The 37-year-old has played only nine tournaments this year and that will become 10 when he features in Shanghai. He also plans on playing two exhibition events – one after the Davis Cup and one against Juan Martin del Potro in Argentina on December 1.
But it remains to be seen if he will add any other official events to his calendar.
“After that [Shanghai], I am going to see what I am going to do,” Djokovic added.
“Usually in my career I used to have my schedule ready six months in advance, but nowadays that's not the case, now it's more spontaneous.
“Firstly, I need to physically, emotionally and mentally rest in order to even start thinking what I want to do next, in what way, how much and where.”
There have been question marks over his desire to continue playing tennis now that he has completed his career Golden Slam (winning the four Grand Slams and singles gold at the Olympics).
Representing Serbia, though, has had the right impact on him.
“Weeks like these represent another motivation, they inspire me to keep going, they awake those butterflies in my belly,” he said.
“I thought that I would never have to seek motivation anywhere, it all used to come naturally – automatically – but that has not been the case in the last few years.
“In order to prolong my career, I need to enjoy, I need to choose wisely tournaments I am going to play.”
The post Novak Djokovic makes ‘spontaneous’ schedule confession as he admits he is ‘done’ with certain tournaments appeared first on Tennis365.
