“Tennis is still my goal. I’m ready to push in the off-season. I just needed to recharge and rest a bit after a tiring year. I’ve told you a million times: I would also like to play the Davis Cup, let’s see what happens. I will play in the first week of the season, but I don’t know where yet. Then, of course, the Australian Open.”
With these words given to Sport Klub, Serbian champion Novak Djokovic warned all his rivals that in 2025 he will be ready to come back on the court with a clear goal in mind: to win the 25th Major of his glorious career. Nole will play a preparatory tournament – he hasn’t chosen which one yet – before the Australian Slam. In the last two seasons he has played ATP 250 Adelaide 1 – won by erasing match points in the final against Sebastian Korda – and the United Cup.
Novak Djokovic, ATP Finals 2023© Stream screenshot
Darren Cahill, coach of the current ATP ranking number 1 Jannik Sinner, warned all players not to underestimate the Serbian champion, underlining how legends like Nole always find a way to get out of negative periods.
“Do not believe that Djokovic is doomed. He is a legend and legends always find a way to get out of difficult moments, otherwise he would not have won 24 Slams. He demonstrated it in the way he won the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Sinner’s goals? We will not focus too much on the ranking; being number 1 at the end of the year is a fantastic result, but now we must raise the physical and technical level for the Slams, starting from the Australian Open,” said Cahill in an interview with Italian media Corriere della Sera.
Novak Djokovic & Jannik Sinner, ATP Finals 2023© Stream screenshot
The Australian coach also talked about the recent controversy surrounding Jannik’s words on the Six Kings Slam prize money. The young Italian had said, on the sidelines of the exhibition played in Riyadh: “I don’t play for money. Sure, it’s a nice prize and all that, but I went to Saudi Arabia because there were the six best players in the world and you can measure yourself against them. It was also a nice event for me, it was the first time I went to Riyadh and it was nice.”
Cahill said about his players’ words: “Jannik knows what his priorities are. Then he got an offer for the Six Kings Slam, with the six best players in the world and a lot of money. He consulted us and we asked him why not, and he accepted. What he said about not going to Riyadh for the money was misinterpreted. Or maybe he didn’t explain himself well. The truth is that he had never played an exhibition, he has always focused on improving his tennis.”