Novak Djokovic’s year could go from bad to worse after U.S. Open disappointment
Novak Djokovic’s chances of making it to the ATP Finals have been dealt a severe blow after his early departure from the U.S. Open.
The 37-year-old was defeated by Alexei Popyrin in the third round, meaning he will end the year without any of the four Grand Slam titles under his belt.
Djokovic would have expected to secure a spot at the ATP Finals with a strong performance at the U.S. Open. However, he now faces a struggle to participate in the prestigious end-of-season event as other results at Flushing Meadows have not gone in his favor.
Taylor Fritz’s triumph over Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals has pushed Djokovic down to ninth place in this year’s ATP Race, which tallies the ranking points from the calendar year. This implies that he won’t be participating in the ATP Finals unless he can accumulate more ranking points.
The ATP Finals in November will feature the top eight players from the ATP Race rankings. Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Zverev are guaranteed to qualify, with Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, and Andrey Rublev also ahead of Djokovic.The latter’s hesitance to participate in lower-tier tournaments could jeopardize his chances of defending last year’s ATP Finals title.
The latter’s hesitance to participate in lower-tier tournaments could jeopardize his chances of defending last year’s ATP Finals title.
Although Djokovic is listed for next month’s Shanghai Masters, it’s uncertain if he’ll compete in this season segment for the first time since 2019.
The Serbian player is also expected to compete at the Paris Masters, where a whopping 1,000 ranking points are up for grabs. However, he may need to win that tournament to secure his spot at the ATP Finals unless he opts to enter additional events.
Djokovic confessed that outside of Grand Slams, his spark diminishes, notably during the French Open: “It’s true that I’m focused pretty much solely on Grand Slams and Olympics this year and playing for my country, really.
“That’s something that really drives me the most today. The other tournaments, it’s not maybe sounding right, but these are huge tournaments, very important tournaments, tournaments that are part of the ATP Tour that I was part of and still am part of for so many years, and have been integral to my career and my success.
“But yeah, it is becoming a little bit more challenging for me to push myself every single tournament to be really at the top.”
