Novak Djokovic celebrates his victory
Novak Djokovic could have a big decision to make in the next few days, as he may be on course to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin.
The 24-time Grand Slam-winning legend has pulled out of next week’s Paris Masters event, amid reports in Serbia that he will not play again for the rest of 2024.
Djokovic has stated on numerous occasions that he will play a reduced schedule for the rest of his career, as he looks to focus on Grand Slam tournaments and playing for Serbia in the Davis Cup.
“Unfortunately I won’t be playing the Paris Masters this year,” the 24-time Grand Slam winner wrote on Instagram, as he confirmed his move to withdraw from the last ATP 1000 tournament of the season.
“I have a lot of great memories, winning seven titles and I hope to be back with you next year. Sorry to everyone who was hoping to see me there.”
That decision means the Serbian will take a step back from ATP Tour events from now on, with his move to pull out of the Paris Masters evidence of that stance.
Djokovic is currently sitting in sixth position in the ATP Race to Turin, with the top eight players in that list at the end of the regular ATP Tour season on November 9th.
By not playing in Paris, Djokovic opened the door to the players behind him in the Race to overtake him and qualify for the ATP Finals.
The trio of Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev and Alex de Minaur are his closest challengers in the rankings for 2024, but the trio failed to make major group on Djokovic after losing relatively early this week.
Ruud lost his opening match in the ATP 500 event in Basel, with Rublev losing in the quarter-finals of that tournament and De Minaur lost in the quarter-finals in Vienna.
Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Paul are 10th and 11th on the ATP Race list, but they lost early in Vienna, so it will all come down to how these players perform in a packed Paris draw.
Ruud and Paul could play each other in that tournament, in what could be a crucial match in the race to qualify for Turin.
Dimitrov will play either Tomas Martin Etcheverry from Argentina or China’s Zhang Zhizhen in his first match in the French capital, where he lost against Djokovic in last year’s final.
Meanwhile, Rublev could face Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in his first match in Paris, with Stefanos Tsitsipas in his section of the draw.
Unless at least two of these players shine in Paris or do well in ATP 250 events in Belgrade and Metz at the start of November, Djokovic could qualify for Turin and will need to make a decision on whether to play.
Djokovic last featured at the Shanghai Masters, where he was a runner-up to Jannik Sinner earlier this month.
Speaking to Sky Sports, former player and coach Ivan Ljubicic expressed his uncertainty over Djokovic’s motivation to keep playing in the absence of his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“I don’t know, and I believe he doesn’t know either at the moment,” said Ljubicic, who is a former coach of Roger Federer.
“In my opinion, his goal is definitely the tournaments and not the ranking because to climb higher, he would have to play much more.
“He is neither physically nor mentally prepared for it, but he showed us in Shanghai that when he wants to compete, he can challenge the best.
“I doubt he will play in Turin this year, but he will try again next year.”
