Novak Djokovic declares ‘I am done with those tournaments’ and threatens to skip events
Novak Djokovic has threatened to skip a host of events including the year-end ATP Finals.
Novak Djokovic has threatened to skip a host of events including the ATP Finals
Novak Djokovic has threatened to skip a host of events including the ATP Finals
Novak Djokovic threatened to skip a host of events, including the ATP Finals, when discussing what his priorities will be moving forward. The Serb is preparing to navigate the twilight of his career, having celebrated his 37th birthday at the start of the summer.
Djokovic has been playing in fewer events over the last couple of years, focusing most of his energy on Grand Slams and representing his country on the international stage. Other tournaments are not as high on his list of priorities, with the 37-year-old adamant he has bigger fish to fry.
“Usually in my career I used to have my schedule ready six months in advance, but nowadays that’s not the case,” he explained.
“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.
Torino [the ATP Finals] is not my goal at all, to be honest. I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings. As far as I’m concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play others 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. I said a million times how much it means to play for the national team.
“The way you show it is by, first and foremost, playing for the national team when you get the call, with fight, dedication in both practice and matches.”
Djokovic is on the entry list for next month’s Shanghai Masters but it remains to be seen if he will decide to play in that part of the season for the first time since 2019. He is also scheduled to compete at the Paris Masters, where 1,000 ranking points will be up for grabs.
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However, his latest comments suggest that he could skip both tournaments in order to conserve his energy for next year’s Grand Slams.
Djokovic has openly admitted that he struggles to find the motivation to play in lesser events, saying at the French Open: “It’s true that I’m focused pretty much solely on Grand Slams and Olympics this year and playing for my country, really. That’s something that really drives me the most today.
The other tournaments, it’s not maybe sounding right, but these are huge tournaments, very important tournaments, tournaments that are part of the ATP Tour that I was part of and still am part of for so many years, and have been integral to my career and my success.
“But yeah, it is becoming a little bit more challenging for me to push myself every single tournament to be really at the top.”
