Veteran Novak Djokovic has claimed that he is not chasing the ATP finals. The 24-time Grand Slam champion has revealed that playing for Serbia and playing in Major events is at the top of the list for him and he needs to be wise in deciding which tournaments he is going to play at the fag end of his career.
The Serbian recently lost in the third round of the US Open against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin. Djokovic won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics after beating Carlos Alcaraz in the final but his 2024 season ended without a Slam.
Meanwhile, Djokovic made a return to the court and registered a 6-0 6-1 win against World No.770 Ioannis Xilas, with Serbia taking on a weakened Greek lineup without Stefanos Tsitsipas in their Group I tie.
“Weeks like these represent another motivation, they inspire me to keep going, they awake those butterflies in my belly,” explained Djokovic.
“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.”
Djokovic will next take on Grigor Dimitrov in an exhibition match and then he will take part in the Shanghai Open. The veteran revealed he hasn’t planned the rest of the season after playing in the Shanghai Open.
“After that, I am going to see what am I going to do. 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.”
He continued, “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.”
Djokovic has won the Nitto ATP Finals on seven occasions in his glorious career.
“Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings etc,” revealed Djokovic. “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.”
