Novak Djokovic has made it clear that he will no longer prioritise ATP Ranking points in the final chapters of his tennis career, but could fall an alarming slide in the final weeks of 2024 unless he finds his best form once again.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is currently at No 9 in the ATP Race and needs to get into the top eight to qualify for the lucrative ATP Finals in Turin in November, but he made it clear that is not his priority after playing for Serbia in the Davis Cup.
Yet he has insisted he will not go chasing ranking points, even though he has confirmed he plans to travel to China to play in the Shanghai Masters next month.
“Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings,” he told reporters in Serbia last weekend.
“As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play in other tournaments this year or in the future, I can’t say right now.
“My main priorities are playing for Serbia and Slams, everything else is less important.”
Djokovic is set to play exhibition events in Saudi Arabia and Argentina over the next few weeks and he has also confirmed he will play the ATP 1000 event in Shanghai.
“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.”
Djokovic only has ranking points from two tournaments dropping off his current ranking in the final weeks of this year, but his success in the final weeks of last year means he is defending 2,300 ranking points at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals in Turin.
If he doesn’t perform well in Shanghai or Paris this year, he could miss out on qualification for the ATP Finals and that could see a bulk of those 2,300 ranking points drop off his total.
That could see Djokovic tumble out of the top ten of the final ATP Rankings for 2024 and while that may not be a major concern for a player who has won it all time and again, it could be an issue heading into the New Year.
Djokovic may only be focusing on trying to win more Grand Slam titles and playing for his beloved Serbia, but a ranking outside the top ten could make the first of those tasks tough.
Jannik Sinner looks set to be world No 1 heading into the Australian Open in January and he could also have Carlos Alcaraz in his half of the draw if he stays in his current position at No 3.
That could serve up the prospect of Djokovic playing Sinner or Alcaraz in the last-16 at the Australian Open, with a last-eight clash also a possibility.
With Djokovic playing fewer tournaments, he may need to use the early rounds of Grand Slam events to get himself into form and that task would not be helped by a clash with Sinner or Alcaraz in only his fourth match in Melbourne.
Djokovic’s ranking is certain to fall further if he follows through on his plan not to compete in too many ATP Tour events, but this magnificent champion would doubtless back himself to find a way to win even if he is making his task a little more challenging.
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