Novak Djokovic’s season may be very close to its conclusion. The former world number 1 has not played much this year, focusing only on the main events of the calendar. The 37-year-old from Belgrade knows he has not many seasons ahead of him and wants to stay motivated despite winning every title in the sport.
This year, Nole completed the puzzle during the summer by winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The Serbian legend failed to win its 25th career Major title, reaching the final only at the Wimbledon Championships and losing to Carlos Alcaraz after a match dominated by the Spaniards.
Novak Djokovic & Grigor Dimitrov, Sofia 2024© Stream screenshot
After helping his Serbia in the Davis Cup tie against Greece last weekend, Novak has made it clear that he will not add tournaments to his schedule to try and qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin (where he lifted the trophy last year). Djokovic will definitely play the Masters 1000 in Shanghai at the beginning of next month and then he will travel to Saudi Arabia for the ‘Six Kings Slam’ together with other great players such as Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion admitted he does not know if and which tournaments he will play after his performance in Saudi Arabia. According to some insiders, the 2024 of the Serbian ace could close well in advance. Novak’s big goal is to get back in shape in 2025, especially at the Australian Open, where he will try to win his eleventh career title.
Nole will play in Saudi Arabia
Many fans were surprised by Djokovic’s decision not to play the Laver Cup this year. The 2024 edition is taking place at the Uber Arena in Berlin this weekend and many top players are present, including 4-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz. Everyone knows that Roger Federer – who founded this event in 2017 – and Nole are not particularly close, although they respect each other very much.
Novak Djokovic, 2023 ATP Finals© Stream screenshot
However, the Serbian has participated in the Laver Cup in 2018 in Chicago and in 2022, watching closely the last match of the Swiss legend. The 24-time Grand Slam champion will be at the ‘Six Kings Slam’ in Saudi Arabia next month. It is a very rich exhibition, in which the players will earn 1.5 million dollars for their presence. The winner will win a record prize money of $6 million.
In a recent interview with Sports, the Serbian legend discussed his schedule: “For the first time in my career, I have no long-term plans. I’m living in the moment; we’ll see what happens in the future. Today I will play in Sofia against Grigor, then I will go to China, and afterward, I have an exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia. After that? I don’t know, honestly. We’ll see how I feel and then I’ll make a decision. I want to be with my wife and kids, be part of their daily life, something I haven’t been able to do for many years.”
Djokovic’s legacy
Insiders are wondering if Nole will be able to win at least one more Grand Slam title next year. The improvements of young champions like Alcaraz and Sinner make his task more complicated, especially in the best five-set tournaments. During an Eurosport event, tennis legend John McEnroe reflected on Novak’s impressive legacy: “You look back at the final where he beat Nadal in almost six hours to win the Australian Open (in 2012).
Novak Djokovic© Novak Djokovic – Instagram
Then you look at how he became such a great grass court player and his record of winning seven Wimbledon titles. Saving the match points against Roger (Federer) in the 2019 Wimbledon final was pretty amazing and he has also saved match points at the US Open before going on to win the the title in New York.
Yet it seems like because he hadn’t won the Olympics and that was the one missing off his record, his gold medal in Paris a few weeks ago might just mean the most to him. It was pretty unexpected because he had the issue with the knee and we weren’t sure if he was going to play at Wimbledon.
Then he gets to Paris and plays the way he did, beating Carlos Alcaraz in a pretty incredible final, so that win will be right up there on his list. He has been under-appreciated. It has been difficult for him to be compared to Rafa and Roger, but he has done an amazing job to put himself ahead of those guys. In ten years, 20 years, I think people will love him even more. When he stops playing, people will realise what he brought. I think that Djokovic has really tried to step up for the sport on and off the court.”