Novak Djokovic 'can't say' whether he will compete at Turin ATP Finals - ‘Not my goal at all’

Published 15/09/2024 at 10:35 GMT

Novak Djokovic admitted he "can't say" whether he will compete at the ATP Finals in November. The season-ending event sees the top eight singles players compete in a prestigious showpiece, with this year's competition taking place in Turin. Djokovic explained that chasing rankings is not his priority, but still expressed his hunger to represent Serbia and compete in Grand Slams.

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Novak Djokovic has thrown doubt over his possible participation at the upcoming ATP Finals in November, as the Serbian great says he will be more selective over his future tournament choices.

The Serbian was speaking after overcoming Greece's Ioannis Xilas at the Davis Cup with a 6-0 6-1 victory, and stressed that representing his country and competing in Grand Slams is now the main priority.

“Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings etc,” he told Serbian reporters after the match.

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“As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play other tournaments this year or in the future, I can’t say right now.

“My main priorities are playing for the national team and slams, everything else is less important.”

However, the 24-time Grand Slam winner stressed that competitions like the Davis Cup are motivating him to prolong his career.

The 37-year-old was competing on home soil in Belgrade, as Serbia took a 2-0 lead over Greece in their World Group Stage match.

“Weeks like these represent another motivation, they inspire me to keep going, they awake those butterflies in my belly,” Djokovic explained.

“I thought that I would never have to seek motivation anywhere, it all used to come naturally – automatically – but that has not been the case in the last few years.

“In order to prolong my career, I need to enjoy, I need to choose wisely tournaments I am going to play.”

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Djokovic also confirmed he will not be playing at the ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade at the start of November, adding: “I am not playing, that won’t change.”

Following the Davis Cup, Djokovic will play an exhibition tournament in Sofia and in the ATP 1000 event in Shanghai between October 2-13.

He has also agreed to play an exhibition against Juan Martin Del Potro in Argentina on December 1.

“After that [Shanghai], I am going to see what I am going to do,” Djokovic explained.

“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.”

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